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THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


v.i 


\ 


K  E  N IL WORT H  ; 


A  ROMANCE. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  «  WAVERLEY,"  &c.  &c. 


COMPLETE  IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 


No  scandal  about  Queen  Elizabeth,  I  hope  ? 

The  Critic. 


Vol.  X. 


WAVERLEY   NOVELS.  21. 


BOSTON  : 

SAMUEL  H.  PARKER,  NO.  164,  WASHINGTON -STREET. 
1828. 


Waver) ey  Press— Boston. 


S  2  $ 
Sco  S  K 


KENILWORTH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

I  am  an  inn-keeper,  and  know  my  grounds, 
And  study  them  ;  Brain  o'  man,  I  study  them. 
I  must  have  jovial  guests  to  drive  my  ploughs, 
And  whistling  boys  to  bring  my  harvests  home, 
Or  I  shall  hear  no  flails  thwack. 

Tlie  New  Inn. 

It  is  the  privilege  of  tale-tellers  to  open  their  story  in 
*  an  inn,  the  free  rendezvous  of  all  travellers,  and  where 
'the^humour  of  each  displays  itself,  without  ceremony  or 
^restraint.     This  is  specially  suitable  when  the  scene  is 
-'laid  during  the  old  days  of  merry  ^England,  when  the 
^guests  were  in  some  sort  not  merely  the  inmates,  but  the 
,messmates  and  temporary  companions  of  mine  host,  who 
fwas  usually  a  personage  of  privileged  freedom,  comely 
'presence,  and  good  humour.     Patronized  by  him,  the 
;  characters  of  the  company  were  placed  in  ready  con- 
trast ;  and  they  seldom  failed,  during  the  emptying  of  a 
six-hooped  pot,  to  throw  off  reserve,  and  present  them- 
selves to  each  other,  and  to  their  landlord,  with  the  free- 
dom of  old  acquaintance. 

The  village  of  Cumnor,  within  three  or  four  miles  of 
Oxford,  boasted,  during  the  eighteenth  of  Queen  Eliz- 
abeth, an  excellent  inn  of"  the  old  stamp,  conducted,  or 
rather  ruled,  by  Giles  Gosling,  a  man  of  a  goodly  person, 
and  of  somewhat  a  round  belly,  fifty  years  of  age  and 
upwards,  moderate  in  his  reckoning,  prompt  in  his  pay- 
ments, having  a  cellar  of  sound  liquor,  a  ready  wit,  and 

/%  /j* 


m 


4 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


a  pretty  daughter.  Since  the  days  of  old  Harry  Baillie 
of  the  Tabard  in  Southwark,  no  one  had  excelled  Giles 
Gosling  in  the  power  of  pleasing  his  guests  of  every  de- 
scription ;  and  so  great  was  his  fame,  that  to  have  been  in 
Cumnor,  without  wetting  a  cup  at  the  bonny  Black  Bear, 
would  have  been  to  avouch  one's-self  utterly  indifferent 
to  reputation  as  a  traveller.  A  country  fellow  might  as 
well  return  from  London,  without  looking  in  the  face  of 
majesty.  The  men  of  Cumnor  were  proud  of  their 
host,  and  their  host  was  proud  of  his  house,  his  liquor, 
his  daughter  and  himself. 

It  was  in  the  court-yard  of  the  inn  which  called  this 
honest  fellow  landlord,  that  a  traveller  alighted  in  the  close 
of  the  evening,  gave  his  horse,  which  seemed  to  have 
made  a  long  journey,  to  the  hostler,  and  made  some  in- 
quiry, which  produced  the  following  dialogue  betwixt  the 
myrmidons  of  the  bonny  Black  Bear. 

"  What  ho  !  John  Tapster." 

"  At  hand,  Will  Hostler,"  replied  the  man  of  the 
spiggot,  showing  himself  in  his  costume  of  loose  jacket, 
linen  breeches,  and  green  apron,  half  within  and  half 
without  a  djQQ£f  y;hich  appeared  to  descend  to  an  outer 
cellar. 

"  Here  is  a  gentleman  asks  if  you  draw  good  ale," 
continued  the  hostler. 

"  Beshrew  my  heart  else,"  answered  the  tapster, 
"  since  there  are  but  four  miles  betwixt  us  and  Oxford. 

 Marry,  if  my  ale  did  not  convince  the  heads  of  the 

scholars,  they  would  soon  convince  my  pate  with  the 
pewter  flagon." 

"  Call  you  that  Oxford  logic,"  said  the  stranger,  who 
had  now  quitted  the  rein  of  his  horse,  and  was  advancing 
towards  the  inn-door,  when  he  was  encountered  by  the 
goodly  form  of  Giles  Gosling  himself. 

«  Is  it  logic  you  talk  of,  sir  guest  ?"  said  the  host  ; 
"  why,  then,  have  at  you  with  a  downright  consequence — 

1  The  horse  to  the  rack, 
And  to  fire  with  the  sack/  *' 


KESTIXWORTH . 


5 


"  Amen !  with  all  my  heart,  my  good  host,"  said  the 
stranger  ;  "  let  it  be  a  quart  of  your  best  Canaries,  and 
give  me  your  good  help  to  drink  it." 

"  Nay,  you  are  but  in  your  accidents  yet,  sir  traveller, 
if  you  call  on  your  host  for  help  for  such  a  sipping  mat- 
ter as  a  quart  of  sack — were  it  a  gallon,  you  might  lack 
some  neighbourly  aid  at  my  hand,  and  yet  call  yourself 
a  toper." 

"  Fear  me  not,"  said  the  guest,  "  I  will  do  my  devoir 
as  becomes  a  man  who  finds  himself  within  five  miles  of 
Oxford  ;  for  I  am  not  come  from  the  fields  of  Mars  to 
discredit  myself  amongst  the  followers  of  Minerva." 

As  he  spoke  thus,  the  landlord,  with  much  semblance 
of  hearty  welcome,  ushered  his  guest  into  a  large  low 
chamber,  where  several  persons  were  seated  together  in 
different  parties  ;  some  drinking,  some  playing  at  cards, 
some  conversing,  and  some,  whose  business  called  them 
to  be  early  risers  on  the  morrow,  concluding  their  even- 
ing meal,  and  conferring  with  the  chamberlain  about  their 
night's  quarters. 

The  entrance  of  a  stranger  procured  him  that  general 
and  careless  sort  of  attention  which  is  usually  paid  on 
such  occasions,  from  which  the  following  results  were  de- 
duced : — The  guest  was  one  of  those  who,  with  a  well- 
made  person,  and  features  not  in  themselves  unpleasing, 
are  nevertheless  so  far  from  handsome,  that,  whether  from 
the  expression  of  their  features,  or  the  tone  of  their 
voice,  or  from  their  gait  and  manner,  there  arises,  on  the 
whole,  a  disinclination  to  their  society.  The  stranger's 
address  was  bold,  without  being  frank,  and  seemed  eager- 
ly and  hastily  to  claim  for  him  a  degree  of  attention  and 
deference,  which  he  feared  would  be  refused,  if  not  in- 
stantly vindicated  as  his  right.  His  attire  was  a  riding- 
cloak,  which,  when  open,  displayed  a  handsome  jerkin, 
overlaid  with  lace,  and  belted  with  a  buff  girdle,  which 
sustained  a  broadsword  and  a  pair  of  pistols. 

"  You  ride  well  provided,  sir,"  said  the  host,  looking 

1*     VOL.  I. 


6 


KEPfIL  WORTH. 


at  the  weapons  as  he  placed  on  the  table  the  mulled  sack 
which  the  traveller  had  ordered. 

"  Yes,  mine  host  5  I  have  found  the  use  on't  in  dan- 
gerous times,  and  I  do  not,  like  your  modern  grandees, 
turn  off  my  followers  the  instant  they  are  useless." 

"  Ay,  sir  ?"  said  Giles  Gosling ;  "  then  you  are  from 
the  Low  Countries,  the  land  of  pike  and  caliver  ?" 

"  I  have  been  high  and  low,  my  friend,  broad  and 
wide,  far  and  near  ;  but  here  is  to  thee  in  a  cup  of  thy 
sack — fill  thyself  another  to  pledge  me  ;  and,  if  it  is  less 
than  superlative,  e'en  drink  as  you  have  brewed." 

"  Less  than  superlative  ?"  said  Giles  Gosling,  drinking 
off  the  cup,  and  smacking  his  lips  with  an  air  of  ineffable 
relish, — "  I  know  nothing  of  superlative,  nor  is  there 
such  a  wine  at  the  Three  Cranes,  in  the  Vintry,  to  my 
knowledge  ;  but  if  you  find  better  sack  than  that  in 
Sheres,  or  in  the  Canaries  either,  I  would  I  may  never 
touch  either  pot  or  penny  more.  Why,  hold  it  up 
betwixt  you  and  the  light,  you  shall  see  the  little  motes 
dance  in  the  golden  liquor  like  dust  in  the  sunbeam.  But 
I  would  rather  draw  wine  for  ten  clowns  than  one  travel- 
ler.— I  trust  your  honour  likes  the  wine  ?" 

"  It  is  neat  and  comfortable,  mine  host ;  but  to  know 
good  liquor,  you  should  drink  where  the  wine  grows. 
Trust  me,  your  Spaniard  is  too  wise  a  man  to  send  you 
the  very  soul  of  the  grape.  Why,  this  now,  which  you 
account  so  choice,  were  counted  but  as  a  cup  of  bastard 
at  the  Groyne,  or  at  Port  St.  Mary's.  You  should  travel, 
mine  host,  if  you  would  be  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
butt  and  pottle-pot." 

"  In  troth,  seignior  guest,"  said  Giles  Gosling,  "  if  I 
were  to  travel  only  that  I  might  be  discontented  with  that 
which  I  can  get  at  home,  methinks  I  should  go  but  on  a 
fool's  errand.  Besides,  I  warrant  you,  there  is  many  a 
fool  can  turn  his  nose  up  at  good  drink  without  ever  hav- 
ing been  out  of  the  smoke  of  Old  England ;  and  so 
ever  gramercy  mine  own  fire-side." 

"  This  is  but  a  mean  mind  of  yours,  mine  host,"  said 
the  stranger  ;  "  I  warrant  me,  all  your  town's-folks  do 


KENIIiWORTH. 


7 


not  think  so  basely.  You  have  gallants  among  you,  I 
dare  undertake,  that  have  made  the  Virginia  voyage,  or 
taken  a  turn  in  the  Low  Countries  at  least.  Come,  cud- 
gel your  memory.  Have  you  no  friends  in  foreign  parts 
that  you  would  gladly  have  tidings  of  ?" 

"  Troth,  sir,  not  I,"  answered  the  host,  "  since  rant- 
ing Robin  of  Drysandford  was  shot  at  the  siege  of  the 
Brill.  The  devil  take  the  caliver  that  fired  the  ball,  for 
a  blither  lad  never  filled  cup  at  midnight.  But  he  is 
dead  and  gone,  and  1  know  not  a  soldier,  or  a  traveller 
who  is  a  soldier's  mate,  that  I  would  give  a  peeled  cod- 
ling for." 

"  By  the  mass,  that  is  strange.  What,  so  many  of  our 
brave  English  hearts  are  abroad,  and  you,  who  seem  to 
be  a  man  of  mark,  have  no  friend,  no  kinsman,  among 
them  ?" 

"  Nay,  if  you  speak  of  kinsmen,"  answered  Gosling, 
"  I  have  one  wild  slip  of  a  kinsman,  who  left  us  in  the 
last  year  of  Queen  Mary,  but  he  is  better  lost  than  found." 

"  Do  not  say  so,  friend,  unless  you  have  heard  ill  of 
him  lately.  Many  a  wild  colt  has  turned  out  a  noble 
steed. — His  name,  I  pray  you  ?" 

"  Michael  Lambourne,"  answered  the  landlord  of  the 
Black  Bear  ;  "  a  son  of  my  sister's — there  is  little  pleas- 
ure in  recollecting  either  the  name  or  the  connexion." 

"  Michael  Lambourne  !"  said  the  stranger,  as  if  en- 
deavouring to  recollect  himself — "  what,  no  relation  to 
Michael  Lambourne,  the  gallant  cavalier  who  behaved  so 
bravely  at  the  siege  of  Venlo,  that  Grave  Maurice  thank- 
ed him  at  the  head  of  the  army  ?  Men  said  he  was  an 
English  cavalier,  and  of  no  high  extraction." 

"  It  could  scarce  be  my  nephew,"  said  Giles  Gosling, 
"  for  he  had  scarce  the  courage  of  a  hen-partridge  for 
aught  but  mischief." 

"  O,  many  a  man  finds  courage  in  the  wars,"  replied 
the  stranger. 

"  It  may  be,"  said  the  landlord  ;  "  but  I  would  have 
thought  our  Mike  more  likely  to  lose  the  little  he  had." 


KEKIIi  WORTH. 


"  The  Michael  Lambourne  whom  I  knew,"  continued 
the  traveller,  "  was  a  likely  fellow — went  always  gay 
and  well  attired,  and  had  a  hawk's  eye  after  a  pretty 
wench." 

"  Our  Michael,"  replied  the  host,  "  had  the  look  of  a 
dog  with  a  bottle  at  its  tail,  and  wore  a  coat  every  rag  of 
which  was  bidding  good-day  to  the  rest." 

"  O,  men  pick  up  good  apparel  in  the  wars,"  replied 
the  guest. 

"  Our  Mike,"  answered  the  landlord,  "  was  more 
like  to  pick  it  up  in  a  frippery  warehouse,  while  the  broker 
was  looking  another  way  ;  and,  for  the  hawk's  eye  you 
talk  of,  his  was  always  after  my  stray  spoons.  He  was 
tapster's  boy  here  in  this  blessed  house  for  a  quarter  of  a 
year  ;  and  between  misreckonings,  miscarriages,  mistakes, 
and  misdemeanours,  had  he  dwelt  with  me  for  three 
month  longers,  I  might  have  pulled  down  sign,  shut  up 
house,  and  given  the  devil  the  key  to  keep." 

"  You  would  be  sorry,  after  all,"  continued  the  trav- 
eller, "  were  I  to  tell  you  poor  Mike  Lambourne  was 
shot  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  at  the  taking  in  of  a 
sconce  near  Maestricht." 

"  Sorry  ! — -it  would  be  the  blithest  news  I  ever  heard 
of  him,  since  it  would  ensure  me  he  was  not  hanged. 
But  let  him  pass — I  doubt  his  end  will  never  do  such 
credit  to  his  friends  ;  were  it  so,  I  should  say — (taking 
another  cup  of  sack)— Here's  God  rest  him,  with  all  my 
heart." 

"  Tush,  man,"  replied  the  traveller,  "  never  fear  but 
you  will  have  credit  by  your  nephew  yet,  especially  if  he 
be  the  Michael  Lambourne  w  hom  I  knew,  and  loved  very 
nearly,  or  altogether,  as  well  as  myself.  Can  you  tell 
me  no  mark  by  which  I  could  judge  whether  they  be  the 
same  ?" 

"  Faith,  none  that  I  can  think  of,"  answered  Giles 
Gosling,  "  unless  that  our  Mike  had  the  gallows  branded 
on  his  left  shoulder  for  stealing  a  silver  caudle-cup  from 
Dame  Snort  of  Hos;sd;t:*]i." 


KENILWORTH. 


9 


"  Nay,  there  you  lie  like  a  knave,  uncle,"  said  the 
stranger,  slipping  aside  his  ruff,  and  turning  down  the 
sleeve  of  his  doublet  from  his  neck  and  shoulder  ;  "  by 
this  good  day,  my  shoulder  is  as  unscarred  as  thine  own." 

"  What,  Mike,  boy — Mike  !"  exclaimed  the  host  ; — 
"  and  is  it  thou,  in  good  earnest  ?  Nay,  I  have  judged 
so  for  this  half  hour  ;  for  I  knew  no  other  person  would 
have  ta'en  half  the  interest  in  thee.  But,  Mike,  an  thy 
shoulder  be  unscathed  as  thou  sayest,  thou  must  own  that 
Goodman  Thong,  the  hangman,  was  merciful  in  his  office, 
and  stamped  thee  with  a  cold  iron." 

"  Tush,  uncle — truce  with  your  jests.  Keep  them  to 
season  your  sour  ale,  and  let  us  see  what  hearty  welcome 
thou  wilt  give  a  kinsman,  who  has  rolled  the  world  around 
for  eighteen  years  ;  who  has  seen  the  sun  set  where  it 
rises,  and  has  travelled  till  the  west  has  become  the  east." 

"  Thou  hast  brought  back  one  traveller's  gift  with 
thee,  Mike,  as  I  well  see,  and  that  was  what  thou  least 
didst  need  to  travel  for.  I  remember  well,  among  thine 
other  qualities,  there  was  no  crediting  a  word  which  came 
from  thy  mouth." 

"  Here's  an  unbelieving  Pagan  for  you,  gentlemen  !" 
said  Michael  Lambourne,  turning  to  those  who  witnessed 
this  strange  interview  betwixt  uncle  and  nephew,  some  of 
whom,  being  natives  of  the  village,  were  no  strangers  to 
his  juvenile  wildness.  "  This  may  be  called  slaying  a 
Cum  nor  fatted  calf  for  me  with  a  vengeance. — But,  un- 
cle, I  come  not  from  the  husks  and  the  swine-trough,  and 
I  care  not  for  thy  welcome  or  no  welcome  ;  I  carry  that 
with  me  will  make  me  welcome,  wend  where  I  will." 

So  saying,  he  pulled  out  a  purse  of  gold,  indifferently 
well  filled,  the  sight  of  which  produced  a  visible  effect 
upon  the  company.  Some  shook  their  heads,  and  whis- 
pered to  each  other,  while  one  or  twTo  of  the  less  scrupu- 
lous speedily  began  to  recollect  him  as  a  school-compan- 
ion, a  townsman,  or  so  forth.  On  the  other  hand,  two  or 
three  grave  sedate-looking  persons  shook  their  heads* 
and  left  the  inn,  hinting,  that,  if  Giles  Gosling  wished  to 
continue  to  thrive,  he  should  turn  his  thriftless  godless 


10 


KENIX  WORTH. 


nephew  adrift  again,  as  soon  as  he  could.  Gosling  de- 
meaned himself,  as  if  he  were  much  of  the  same  opinion ; 
for  even  the  sight  of  the  gold  made  less  impression  on 
the  honest  gentleman,  than  it  usually  doth  upon  one  of 
his  calling. 

"  Kinsman  Michael,"  he  said,  "  put  up  thy  purse. 
My  sister's  son  shall  be  called  to  no  reckoning  in  my 
house  for  supper  or  lodging  ;  and  I  reckon  thou  wilt 
hardly  wish  to  stay  longer,  where  thou  art  e'en  but  too 
well  known." 

"  For  that  matter,  uncle,"  replied  the  traveller,  "  I 
shall  consult  my  own  needs  and  conveniences.  Mean- 
time I  wish  to  give  the  supper  and  sleeping  cup  to  those 
good  townsmen,  who  are  not  too  prood  to  remember  Mike 
Lambourne,  the  tapster's  boy.  If  you  will  let  me  have 
entertainment  for  my  money,  so — if  not,  it  is  but  a  short 
two  minute's  walk  to  the  Hare  and  Tabor,  and  I  trust 
our  neighbours  will  not  grudge  going  thus  far  with  me." 

"  Nay,  Mike,"  replied  his  uncle,  "  as  eighteen  years 
have  gone  over  thy  head,  and  I  trust  thou  art  somewhat 
amended  in  thy  conditions,  thou  shalt  not  leave  my  house 
at  this  hour,  and  shalt  e'en  have  whatever  in  reason  you 
list  to  call  for.  But  1  would  I  knew  that  that  purse  of 
thine,  which  thou  vapourest  of,  were  as  well  come  by  as 
it  seems  well  filled." 

"  Here  is  an  infidel  for  you,  my  good  neighbours,"  said 
Lambourne,  again  appealing  to  the  audience.  "  Here's 
a  fellow  will  rip  up  his  kinsman's  follies  of  a  good  score 
of  years  standing — And  for  the  gold,  why  sirs,  I  have 
been  where  it  grew,  and  was  to  be  had  for  the  gathering. 
In  the  New  World  have  I  been,  man — in  the  Eldorado, 
where  urchins  play  at  cherry-pit  with  diamonds,  and 
country-wenches  thread  rubies  for  necklaces,  instead  of 
rowan-tree  berries  ;  where  the  pan-tiles  are  made  of  pure 
gold,  and  the  paving-stones  of  virgin-silver." 

"  By  my  credit,  friend  Mike,"  said  young  Lawrence 
Goldthred,  the  cutting  mercer  of  Abingdon,  "  that  were 
a  likely  coast  to  trade  to.    And  what  may  lawns,  cypress 
es,  and  ribands  fetch,  where  gold  is  so  plenty  ?" 


KENILWORTH. 


11 


"  O,  the  profit  were  unutterable,"  replied  Lambourne, 
"  especially  when  a  handsome  young  merchant  bears  the 
pack  himself  ;  for  the  ladies  of  that  clime  are  bona-robas, 
and  being  themselves  somewhat  sun-burnt,  they  catch  fire 
like  tinder  at  a  fresh  complexion  like  thine,  with  a  head 
of  hair  inclining  to  be  red." 

"  I  would  I  might  trade  thither,"  said  the  mercer, 
chuckling. 

"  Why,  and  so  thou  mayest,"  said  Michael  ;  "  that 
is,  if  thou  art  the  same  brisk  boy,  who  was  partner  with 
me  at  robbing  the  abbot's  orchard — 'tis  but  a  little  touch 
of  alchemy  to  decoct  thy  house  and  land  into  ready 
money,  and  that  ready  money  into  a  tall  ship,  with  sails, 
anchors,  cordage,  and  all  things  conforming  ;  then  clap 
thy  warehouse  of  goods  under  hatches,  put  fifty  good 
fellows  on  deck,  with  myself  to  command  them,  and  so 
hoise  top-sails,  and  hey  for  the  New  World." 

"  Thou  hast  taught  him  a  secret,  kinsman,"  said  Giles 
Gosling,  "  to  decoct,  an  that  be  the  word,  his  pound  into 
a  penny,  and  his  webs  into  a  thread. — Take  a  fool's  ad- 
vice, neighbour  Goldthred.  Tempt  not  the  sea,  for  she 
is  a  devourer.  Let  cards  and  cockatrices  do  their  worst, 
thy  father's  bales  may  bide  a  banging  for  a  year  or  two, 
ere  thou  comest  to  the  Spittal ;  but  the  sea  hath  a  bot- 
tomless appetite,  she  would  swallow  the  wealth  of  Lom- 
bard Street  in  a  morning,  as  easily  as  I  would  a  poached 
egg  and  a  cup  of  clary- — and  for  my  kinsman's  Eldorado, 
never  trust  me  if  I  do  not  believe  he  has  found  it  in  the 
pouches  of  some  such  gulls  as  thyself. — But  take  no  snuff 
in  the  nose  about  it ;  fall  to  and  welcome,  for  here  comes 
the  supper,  and  I  heartily  bestow  it  on  all  that  will  take 
share,  in  honour  of  my  hopeful  nephew's  return,  always 
trusting  that  he  has  come  home  another  man. — In  faith, 
kinsman,  thou  art  as  like  my  poor  sister  as  ever  was  son 
to  mother." 

"  Not  quite  so  like  old  Benedict  Lambourne  her  hus- 
band, though,"  said  the  mercer,  nodding  and  winking- 
"  Dost  thou  remember,  Mike,  what  thou  saidst  when  the 
schoolmaster's  ferule  was  over  thee  for  striking  up  the 


KENILWORTH. 


father's  crutches  ? — it  is  a  wise  child,  saidst  thou,  that 
knows  its  own  father.  Dr.  Bricham  laughed  till  he  cried 
again,  and  his  crying  saved  yours." 

"  Well,  he  made  it  up  to  me  many  a  day  after,"  said 
Lambourne  ;  "  and  how  is  the  worthy  pedagogue  ?" 

"  Dead,"  said  Giles  Gosling,  "  this  many  a  day  since." 

"  THat  he  is,"  said  the  clerk  of  the  parish  ;  "  I  sat  by 
his  bed  the  whilst — He  passed  away  in  a  blessed  frame, 
'  Morior — mortuus  sum  vel  fui — rnorV — These  were  his 
latest  words,  and  he  just  added,  ;  my  last  verb  is  conju- 
gated.9 " 

"  Well,  peace  be  with  him,"  said  Mike,  "  he  owes 
me  nothing." 

"  No,  truly,"  replied  Goldthred  ;  "  and  every  lash 
which  he  laid  on  thee,  he  always  was  wont  to  say,  he 
spared  the  hangman  a  labour." 

"  One  would  have  thought  he  left  him  little  to  do  then," 
said  the  clerk  ;  "  and  yet  Goodman  Thong  had  no  sine- 
cure of  it  with  our  friend,  after  all." 

"  Voto  a  Dios!"  exclaimed  Lambourne,  his  patience 
appearing  to  fail  him,  as  he  snatched  his  broad  slouched 
hat  from  the  table  and  placed  it  on  his  head,  so  that  the 
shadow  gave  the  sinister  expression  of  a  Spanish  bravo, 
to  eyes  and  features  which  naturally  boded  nothing  pleas- 
ant. "  Harkee,  my  masters — all  is  fair  among  friends, 
and  under  the  rose ;  and  I  have  already  permitted  my 
worthy  uncle  here,  and  all  of  you,  to  use  your  pleasure 
with  the  frolics  of  my  nonage.  But  I  carry  sword  and 
dagger,  my  good  friends,  and  can  use  them  lightly  too 
upon  occasion — I  have  learned  to  be  dangerous  upon 
points  of  honour  ever  since  I  served  the  Spaniard,  and 
I  would  not  have  you  provoke  me  to  the  degree  of  falling 
foul." 

"  Why,  what  would  you  do  ?"  said  the  clerk. 

"  Ay,  sir,  what  would  you  do  ?"  said  the  mercer, 
bustling  up  on  the  other  side  of  the  table. 

"  Slit  your  throat,  and  spoil  your  Sunday's  quavering, 
sir  clerk,"  said  Lambourne,  fiercely ;  "  Cudgel  you,  my 


KENILWOHTH. 


13 


worshipful  dealer  in  flimsy  sarsenets,  into  one  of  your 
own  bales." 

"  Come,  come,"  said  the  host,  interposing,  "  I  will 
have  no  swaggering  here. — Nephew,  it  will  become  you 
best  to  show  no  haste  to  take  offence  ;  and  you,  gentle- 
men, will  do  well  to  remember,  that  if  you  are  in  an  inn, 
still  you  are  the  inn-keeper's  guests,  and  should  spare  the 
honour  of  his  family. — I  protest  your  silly  broils  make  me 
as  oblivious  as  yourself ;  for  yonder  sits  my  silent  guest 
as  I  call  him,  who  hath  been  my  two  days  inmate,  and 
hath  never  spoken  a  word,  save  to  ask  for  his  food  and 
his  reckoning — gives  no  more  trouble  than  a  very  peasant 
— pays  his  shot  like  a  prince  royal — looks  but  at  the  sum 
total  of  the  reckoning,  and  does  not  know  what  day  he 
shall  go  away.  O,  'tis  a  jewel  of  a  guest  !  and  yet, 
hang-dog  that  I  am,  I  have  suffered  him  to  sit  by  himself 
like  a  castaway  in  yonder  obscure  nook,  without  so  much 
as  asking  him  to  take  bite  or  sup  alongst  with  us.  It 
were  but  the  right  guerdon  of  my  incivility,  were  he  to  set 
off  to  the  Hare  and  Tabor  before  the  night  grows  older." 

With  his  white  napkin  gracefully  arranged  over  his  left 
arm,  his  velvet  cap  laid  aside  for  the  moment,  and  his 
best  silver  flagon  in  his  right  hand,  mine  host  walked  up 
to  the  solitary  guest  whom  he  mentioned,  and  thereby 
turned  upon  him  the  eyes  of  the  assembled  company. 

He  was  a  man  aged  betwixt  twenty-five  and  thirty, 
rather  above  the  middle  size,  dressed  with  plainness  and 
decency,  yet  bearing  an  air  of  ease,  which  almost  amount- 
ed to  dignity,  and  which  seemed  to  infer  that  his  habit 
was  rather  beneath  his  rank.  His  countenance  was  re- 
served and  thoughtful,  with  dark  hair  and  dark  eyes — 
the  last,  upon  any  momentary  excitement,  sparkled  with 
uncommon  lustre,  but  on  other  occasions  had  the  same 
meditative  and  tranquil  cast  which  was  exhibited  by  his 
features.  The  busy  curiosity  of  the  little  village  had 
been  employed  to  discover  his  name  and  quality,  as  well 
as  his  business  at  Cumnor  ;  but  nothing  had  transpired 

2     VOL.  I. 


14 


KENILWORTH. 


on  either  subject  which  could  lead  to  its  gratification. 
Giles  Gosling,  headborough  of  the  place,  and  a  steady 
friend  to  Queen  Elizabeth  and  the  Protestant  religion,  was 
at  one  time  inclined  to  suspect  his  guest  of  being  a  Jesuit, 
or  seminary  priest,  of  whom  Rome  and  Spain  sent  at  this 
time  so  many  to  grace  the  gallows  in  England.  But  it 
was  scarce  possible  to  retain  such  a  prepossession  against 
a  guest  who  gave  so  little  trouble,  paid  his  reckoning  so 
regularly,  and  who  proposed,  as  it  seemed,  to  make  a  con- 
siderable stay  in  the  bonny  Black  Bear. 

"  Papists,"  argued  Giles  Gosling,  "  are  a  pinching, 
close-fisted  race,  and  this  man  would  have  found  a  lodg- 
ing with  the  wealthy  squire  at  Bessellsley,  or  with  the  old 
Knight  at  Wootton,  or  in  some  other  of  their  Roman  dens, 
instead  of  living  in  a  house  of  public  entertainment,  as 
every  honest  man  and  good  Christian  should.  Besides, 
on  Friday  he  stuck  by  the  powdered  beef  and  carrot, 
though  there  were  as  good  spitchcocked  eels  on  the 
board  as  ever  were  ta'en  out  of  the  Isis." 

Honest  Giles,  therefore,  satisfied  himself  that  his  guest 
was  no  Roman,  and  with  all  comely  courtesy  besought 
the  stranger  to  pledge  him  in  a  draught  of  the  cool  tank- 
ard, and  honour  with  his  attention  a  small  collation  which 
he  was  giving  to  his  nephew,  in  honour  of  his  return,  and, 
as  he  verily  hoped,  of  his  reformation.  The  stranger  at 
first  shook  his  head,  as  if  declining  the  courtesy  ;  but 
mine  host  proceeded  to  urge  him  with  arguments  founded 
on  the  credit  of  his  house,  and  the  construction  which 
the  good  people  of  Cumnor  might  put  upon  such  an  un- 
social humour. 

"  By  my  faith,  sir,"  he  said,  "  it  touches  my  reputa- 
tion that  men  should  be  merry  in  my  house,  and  we  have 
ill  tongues  amongst  us  at  Cumnor,  (as  where  be  there 
not  ?)  who  put  an  evil  mark  on  men  who  pull  thgir  hat 
over  their  brows,  as  if  they  were  looking  back  to  the  days 
that  are  gone,  instead  of  enjoying  the  blithe  sunshiny 
weather  which  God  has  sent  us  in  the  sweet  looks  of  our 
sovereign  mistress,  Queen  Elizabeth,  whom  Heaven  long 
bless  and  preserve." 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


15 


"  Why,  mine  host,"  answered  the  stranger,  "  there  is 
no  treason,  sure,  in  a  man  enjoying  his  own  thoughts, 
under  the  shadow  of  his  own  bonnet  ?  You  have  lived 
in  the  world  twice  as  long  as  I  have,  and  you  must  know 
there  are  thoughts  that  will  haunt  us,  in  spite  of  ourselves, 
and  to  which  it  is  in  vain  to  say,  begone,  and  let  me  be 
merry." 

"  By  my  sooth,"  answered  Giles  Gosling,  "  if  such 
troublesome  thoughts  haunt  your  mind,  and  will  not  get 
them  gone  for  plain  English,  we  will  have  one  of  Father 
Bacon's  pupils  from  Oxford,  to  conjure  them  away  with 
logic  and  with  Hebrew — Or,  what  say  you  to  laying  them 
in  a  glorious  red  sea  of  claret,  my  noble  guest  ?  Come, 
sir,  excuse  my  freedom.  I  am  an  old  host,  and  must 
have  my  talk.  This  peevish  humour  of  melancholy  sits 
ill  upon  you — it  Suits  not  with  a  sleek  boot,  a  hat  of  a 
trim  block,  a  fresh  cloak,  and  a  full  purse — A  pize  on  it, 
send  it  off  to  those  who  have  their  legs  swathed  with  a 
hay-wisp,  their  heads  thatched  with  a  felt  bonnet,  their 
jerkin  as  thin  as  a  cobweb,  and  their  pouch  without  ever 
a  cross  to  keep  the  fiend  Melancholy  from  dancing  in  it. 
Cheer  up,  sir  !  or  by  this  good  liquor  we  will  banish  thee 
from  the  joys  of  blithesome  company,  into  the  mists  of 
melancholy  and  the  land  of  little  ease.  Here  be  a  set  of 
good  fellows  willing  to  be  merry  ;  do  not  scowl  on  them 
like  the  devil  looking  over  Lincoln." 

"  You  say  well,  my  worthy  host,"  said  the  guest,  with 
a  melancholy  smile,  which,  melancholy  as  it  was,  gave  a 
very  pleasant  expression  to  his  countenance — "  You  say 
well,  my  jovial  friend  ;  and  they  that  are  moody  like 
myself,  should  not  disturb  the  mirth  of  those  who  are 
happy — I  will  drink  a  round  with  your  guests  with  all  my 
heart,  rather  than  be  termed  a  mar-feast." 

So  saying,  he  arose  and  joined  the  company,  which, 
encouraged  by  the  precept  and  example  of  Michael  Lam- 
bourne,  and  consisting  chiefly  of  persons  much  disposed 
to  profit  by  the  opportunity  of  a  merry  meal  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  landlord,  had  already  made  some  inroads 
upon  the  limits  of  temperance  ;  as  was  evident  from  the 


16 


KENH  WORTH. 


tone  in  which  Michael  inquired  after  his  old  acquaint- 
ances in  the  town,  and  the  bursts  of  laughter  with  which 
each  answer  was  received.  Giles  Gosling  himself  was 
somewhat  scandalized  at  the  obstreperous  nature  of  their 
mirth,  especially  as  he  involuntarily  felt  some  respect  for 
the  unknown  guest.  He  paused,  therefore,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  table  occupied  by  these  noisy  revellers, 
and  began  to  make  a  sort  of  apology  for  their  license. 

"  You  would  think,"  he  said,  "  to  hear  these  fellows 
talk,  that  there  was  not  one  of  them  who  had  not  been 
bred  to  live  by  stand  and  deliver  ;  and  yet  to-morrow 
you  will  find  them  a  set  of  as  pains-taking  mechanics 
and  so  forth,  as  ever  cut  an  inch  short  of  measure,  or  paid 
a  letter  of  change  in  light  crowns  over  a  counter.  The 
mercer  there  wears  his  hat  awry,  over  a  shagged  head  of 
hair,  that  looks  like  a  curly  water-dog's  back,  goes  un- 
braced, wears  his  cloak  on  one  side,  and  affects  a  ruffian- 
ly vapouring  humour, — when  in  his  shop  at  Abingdon,  he 
is,  from  his  flat  cap  to  his  glistening  shoes,  as  precise  in 
his  apparel  as  if  he  was  named  for  mayor.  He  talks  of 
breaking  parks,  and  taking  the  high-way,  in  such  fashion 
that  you  would  think  he  haunted  every  night  betwixt 
Hounslow  and  London  ;  when  indeed  he  may  be  found 
sound  asleep  in  his  feather-bed,  with  a  candle  placed  be- 
side him  on  one  side,  and  a  Bible  on  the  other,  to  fright 
away  the  goblins." , 

"  And  your  nephew,  mine  host,  this  same  Michael 
Lambourne,  who  is  lord  of  the  feast  ?  Is  he,  too,  such 
an  would-be  ruffler  as  the  rest  of  them  ?" 

"  Why  there  you  push  me  hard,"  said  the  host ;  "  my 
nephew  is  my  nephew,  and  though  he  was  a  desperate 
Dick  of  yore,  yet  Mike  may  have  mended  like  other 
folks,  you  wot — And  I  would  not  have  you  think  all  I 
said  of  him,  even  now,  were  strict  gospel — I  knew  the 
wag  all  the  while,  and  wished  to  pluck  his  plumes  from 
him — And  now,  sir,  by  what  name  shall  I  present  my 
worshipful  guest  to  these  gallants  ?" 

"  Marry,  mine  host,"  replied  the  stranger,  "  you  may 
call  me  Tressilian," 


KENIL  WORTH. 


17 


"  Tressilian  ?"  answered  my  host  of  the  Bear,  "  a 
worthy  name ;  and  as  I  think  of  Cornish  lineage  ;  for 
what  says  the  south  proverb — 

1  By  Pol,  Tre,  and  Pen, 

1  You  may  know  the  Cornish  men.7 

Shall  I  say  the  worthy  Mr.  Tressilian  of  Cornwall  ?" 

"  Say  no  more  than  I  have  given  you  warrant  for,  mine 
host,  and  so  shall  you  be  sure  you  speak  no  more  than 
is  true.  A  man  may  have  one  of  those  honourable  pre- 
fixes to  his  name,  yet  be  born  far  from  St.  Michael's 
Mount." 

Mine  host  pushed  his  curiosity  no  further,  but  present- 
ed Mr.  Tressilian  to  his  nephew's  company,  who,  after 
exchange  of  salutations,  and  drinking  to  the  health  of 
their  new  companion,  pursued  the  conversation  in  which 
he  found  them  engaged,  seasoning  it  with  many  an  inter- 
vening pledge. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Talk  you  of  young  Master  Launcelot  ? 

Merchant  of  Venice. 

After  some  brief  interval,  Master  Goldthred,  at  the 
earnest  instigation  of  mine  host,  and  the  joyous  concur- 
rence of  his  guests,  indulged  the  company  with  the  follow- 
ing morsel  of  melody : 

Of  all  the  birds  on  bush  or  tree, 

Commend  me  to  the  owl, 
Since  he  may  best  ensample  be 
To  those  the  cup  that  trowl. 

For  when  the  sun  hath  left  the  west, 
He  chooses  the  tree  that  he  loves  the  best, 
And  he  whoops  out  his  song,  and  he  laughs  at  his  jest ; 
2*     VOL.  L. 


18 


KENILWORTH. 


Then  though  hours  be  late,  and  weather  foul, 
We'll  drink  to  the  health  of  the  bonny,  bonny  owl. 

The  lark  is  but  a  bumpkin  fowl, 
He  sleeps  in  his  nest  till  morn  ! 
But  my  blessing  upon  the  jolly  owl, 
That  all  night  blows  his  horn. 
Then  up  with  your  cup  till  you  stagger  in  speech, 
And  match  me  this  catch,  though  you  swagger  and  screech, 
And  drink  till  you  wink,  my  merry  men  each  ; 
For  though  hours  be  late,  and  weather  be  foul, 
We'll  drink  to  the  health  of  the  bonny,  bonny  owl. 

"  There  is  savour  in  this,  my  hearts,"  said  Michael, 
when  the  mercer  had  finished  his  song,  "  and  some  good- 
ness seems  left  among  you  yet — but  what  a  beadroll  you 
have  read  me  of  old  comrades,  and  to  every  man's  name 
tacked  some  ill-omened  motto  !  And  so  Swashing  Will 
of  Wallingford  hath  bid  us  good  night  ?" 

"  He  died  the  death  of  a  fat  buck,"  said  one  of  the 
party,  "  being  shot  with  a  cross-bow  bolt,  by  old  Thatch- 
am,  the  Duke's  stout  park-keeper  at  Donnington  Castle." 

"  Ay,  he  always  loved  venison  well,"  replied  Michael, 
"  and  a  cup  of  claret  to  boot — and  so  here's  one  to  his 
memory.    Do  me  right,  my  masters." 

When  the  health  of  this  departed  worthy  had  been 
duly  honoured,  Lambourne  proceeded  to  inquire  after 
Prance  of  Padworth. 

"  Pranced  off — made  immortal  ten  years  since,"  said 
the  mercer  ;  "  marry,  sir,  Oxford  Castle  and  Goodman 
Thong,  and  a  tenpenny-worth  of  cord,  best  know  how." 

"  What,  so  they  hung  poor  Prance  high  and  dry  ?  so 
much  for  loving  to  walk  by  moonlight — a  cup  to  his 
memory,  my  masters — all  merry  fellows  like  moonlight. 
What  has  become  of  Hal  with  the  plume  ? — he  who  liv- 
ed near  Yattenden,  and  wore  the  long  feather — I  forgot 
his  name." 

"  What,  Hal  Hempseed?"  replied  the  mercer,  "  why, 
you  may  remember  he  was  a  sort  of  a  gentleman,  and 
would  meddle  in  state  matters,  and  so  he  got  into  the 
mire  about  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  matter  these  two  or 


KENILWORTH. 


19 


three  years  since,  fled  the  country  with  a  pursuivant's 
warrant  at  his  heels,  and  has  never  since  been  heard  of." 

"  Nay,  after  these  balks,"  said  Michael  Lambourne, 
"  I  need  hardly  inquire  after  Tony  Foster ;  for  when 
ropes  and  cross-bow  shafts,  and  pursuivant's  warrants, 
and  such  like  gear  are  so  rife,  Tony  could  hardly  'scape 
them." 

"  Which  Tony  Foster  mean  you  ?"  said  the  inn- 
keeper. 

"  Why  he  they  call  Tony  Fire-the-Faggot,  because 
he  brought  a  light  to  kindle  the  pile  round  Latimer  and 
Ridley,  when  the  wind  blew  out  Jack  Thong's  torch, 
and  no  man  else  would  give  him  light  for  love  or  money." 

"  Tony  Foster  lives  and  thrives,"  said  the  host. — "  But, 
kinsman,  I  would  not  have  you  call  him  Tony  Fire-the- 
Faggot,  if  you  would  not  brook  the  stab." 

"  How  !  is  he  grown  ashamed  on't  ?"  said  Lambourne  ; 
"  why,  he  was  wont  to  boast  of  it,  and  say  he  liked  as 
well  to  see  a  roasted  heretic,  as  a  roasted  ox." 

"  Ay,  but,  kinsman,  that  was  in  Mary's  time  ;"  repli- 
ed the  landlord,  "  when  Tony's  Father  was  Reeve  here 
to  the  Abbot  of  Abingdon.  But  since  that,  Tony  'mar- 
ried a  pure  precisian,  and  is  as  good  a  Protestant,  I  war- 
rant you,  as  the  best." 

"  And  looks  grave,  and  holds  his  head  high,  and  scorns 
his  old  companions,"  said  the  mercer. 

"  Then  he  hath  prospered,  I  warrant  him,"  said  Lam- 
hourne  ;  "  for  ever  when  a  man  hath  got  nobles  of  his 
own,  he  keeps  out  of  the  way  of  those  whose  exchequers 
lie  in  other  men's  purchase." 

"  Prospered,  quotha  !"  said  the  mercer,  "  why  you 
remember  Cumnor-Place,  the  old  mansion-house  beside 
the  church-yard  ?" 

44  By  the  same  token,  I  robbed  the  orchard  three  times 
— what  of  that  ?— -  it  was  the  old  abbot's  residence  when 
there  was  plague  or  sickness  at  Abingdon." 

"  Ay,"  said  the  host,  "  but  that  has  been  long  over ; 
and  Anthony  Foster  hath  a  right  in  it,  and  lives  there  by 
some  grant  from  a  great  courtier,  who  had  the  church- 


20 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


lands  from  the  crown ;  and  there  he  dwells,  and  has  as 
little  to  do  with  any  poor  wight  in  Cumnor,  as  if  he  were 
himself  a  belted  knight." 

"  Nay,"  said  the  mercer,  "  it  is  not  altogether  pride 
in  Tony  neither — there  is  a  fair  lady  in  the  case,  and 
Tony  will  scarce  let  the  light  of  day  look  on  her." 

"  How,"  said  Tressilian,  who  now  for  the  first  time 
interfered  in  their  conversation,  "  did  ye  not  say  this  Fos- 
ter was  married,  and  to  a  precisian  ?" 

"  Married  he  was,  and  to  as  bitter  a  precisian  as  ever 
eat  flesh  in  Lent ;  and  a  cat-and-clog  life  she  led  with 
Tony  as  men  said.  But  she  is  dead,  rest  be  with  her, 
and  Tony  hath  but  a  slip  of  a  daughter  ;  so  it  is  thought 
he  means  to  wed  this  stranger,  that  men  keep  such  a 
coil  about." 

"And  why  so  ? — I  mean  why  do  they  keep  a  coil 
about  her  ? — said  Tressilian. 

"  Why,  I  wot  not,"  answered  the  host,  "  except  that 
men  say  she  is  beautiful  as  an  angel,  and  no  one  knows 
whence  she  comes,  and  every  one  wishes  to  know  why 
she  is  kept  so  closely  mewed  up.  For  my  part,  I  never 
saw  her — you  have,  I  think,  Master  Goldthred  ?" 

"  That  I  have  old  boy,"  said  the  mercer.  "  Look 
you,  I  was  riding  hither  from  Abingdon — I  passed  under 
the  east  oriel  window  of  the  old  mansion,  where  all  the 
old  saints  and  histories  and  such  like  are  painted — It  was 
not  the  common  path  I  took,  but  one  through  the  Park ; 
for  the  postern-door  was  upon  the  latch,  and  I  thought  I 
might  take  the  privilege  of  an  old  comrade  to  ride  across 
through  the  trees,  both  for  shading,  as  the  day  was  some- 
what hot,  and  for  avoiding  of  dust,  because  I  had  on  my 
peach-coloured  doublet,  pinked  out  with  cloth  of  gold." 

"  Which  garment,"  said  Michael  Lambourne,  "  thou 
would'st  willingly  make  twinkle  in  the  eyes  of  a  fair  dame. 
Ah  !  villain,  thou  wilt  never  leave  thy  old  tricks." 

"  Not  so — not  so,"  said  the  mercer,  with  a  smirking 
laugh ;  "  not  altogether  so — but  curiosity,  thou  knowest, 
and  a  strain  of  compassion  withal, — for  the  poor  young 
lady  sees  nothing  from  morn  to  even  but  Tony  Foster, 


KENILWORTH. 


21 


with  his  scowling  black  brows,  his  bull's  head,  and  his 
bandy  legs." 

"  And  thou  would'st  willingly  show  her  a  dapper  body, 
in  a  silken  jerkin — a  limb  like  a  short-legged  hen's  in  a 
cordovan  boot,  and  a  round,  simpering  what  d'ye  lack, 
sort  of  countenance,  set  off  with  a  velvet  bonnet,  a  Tur- 
key feather,  and  a  gilded  brooch.  Ah  !  jolly  mercer, 
they  who  have  good  wares  are  fond  to  show  them. — 
Come,  gentles,  let  not  the  cup  stand — here's  to  long  spurs, 
short  boots,  full  bonnets,  and  empty  skulls  !" 

"  Nay,  now,  you  are  jealous  of  me,  Mike,"  said  Gold- 
thred  ;  "  and  yet  my  luck  was  but  what  might  have  hap- 
pened to  thee,  or  any  man." 

"  Marry  confound  thine  impudence,"  retorted  Lam- 
bourne  ;  "  thou  would'st  not  compare  thy  pudding  face, 
and  sarsenet  manners,  to  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier  !" 

"  Nay,  my  good  sir,"  said  Tressilian,  "  let  me  beseech 
you  will  not  interrupt  the  gallant  citizen  ;  methinks  he 
tells  his  tale  so  well,  I  could  hearken  to  him  till  mid- 
night." 

"  It's  more  of  your  favour  than  of  my  desert,"  answer- 
ed Master  Goldthred ;  "  but  since  I  give  you  pleasure, 
worthy  Master  Tressilian,  I«  shall  proceed,  maugre  all 
the  gibes  and  quips  of  this  valiant  soldier,  who,  peradven- 
ture,  hath  had  more  cuffs  than  crowns  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries.— And  so,  sir,  as  I  passed  under  the  great  painted 
window,  leaving  my  rein  loose  on  my  ambling  palfrey's 
neck,  partly  for  mine  ease  and  partly  that  I  might  have 
the  more  leisure  to  peer  about,  I  hears  me  the  lattice 
open  ;  and  never  credit  me,  sir,  if  there  did  not  stand 
there  the  person  of  as  fair  a  woman  as  ever  crossed  mine 
eyes,  and  I  think  I  have  looked  on  as  many  pretty  wench- 
es, and  with  as  much  judgment,  as  other  folks." 

"  May  I  ask  her  appearance,  sir?"  said  Tressilian. 

"  O  sir,"  replied  Master  Goldthred,  "  I  promise  you 
she  was  in  gentlewoman's  attire — a  very  quaint  and  pleas- 
ing dress,  that  might  have  served  the  Queen  herself; 
for  she  had  a  forepart  with  body  and  sleeves,  of  ginger- 
coloured  satin,  which  in  my  judgment,  must  have  cost  by 


22 


KBNIIWORTH. 


the  yard  some  thirty  shillings,  lined  with  murrey  taffeta, 
and  laid  down  and  guarded  with  two  broad  laces  of  gold 
and  silver.  And  her  hat,  sir,  was  truly  the  best-fash- 
ioned thing  that  I  have  seen  in  these  parts,  being  of 
tawney  taffeta,  embroidered  with  scorpions  of  Venice 
gold,  and  having  a  border  garnished  with  gold  fringe ; 
—I  promise  you,  sir,  an  absolute  and  all  surpassing  de- 
vice. Touching  her  skirts,  they  were  in  the  old  pass- 
devant  fashion." 

"  I  did  not  ask  you  of  her  attire,  sir,"  said  Tressilian. 
who  had  shown  some  impatience  during  this  conversation, 
"  but  of  her  complexion — the  colour  of  her  hair,  her 
features." 

"  Touching  her  complexion,"  answered  the  mercer, 
"  I  am  not  so  special  certain  ;  but  I  marked  that  her  fan 
had  an  ivory  handle,  curiously  inlaid ; — and  then  again, 
as  to  the  colour  of  her  hair,  why,  I  can  warrant,  be  its 
hue  what  it  might,  that  she  wore  above  it  a  net  of  green 
silk,  parcel  twisted  with  gold." 

"  A  most  mercer-like  memory,"  said  Lambourne  ; 
"  the  gentleman  asks  him  of  the  lady's  beauty  and  he 
talks  of  her  fine  clothes  !" 

"  I  tell  thee,"  said  the  mercer,  somewhat  disconcerted, 
"  I  had  little  time  to  look  at  her  ;  for  just  as  I  was  about 
to  give  her  the  good  time  of  day,  and  for  that  purpose 
had  puckered  my  features  with  a  smile" — — 

"  Like  those  of  a  jackanape,  simpering  at  a  chesnut," 
said  Michael  Lambourne. 

"  — Up  started  of  a  sudden,"  continued  Goldthred, 
without  heeding  the  interruption,  "  Tony  Foster  himself, 
with  a  cudgel  in  his  hand"  

"  And  broke  thy  head  across,  I  hope,  for  thine  imper- 
tinence," said  his  entertainer. 

"  That  were  more  easily  said  than  done,"  answered 
Goldthred  indignantly  ;  "  no,  no — there  was  no  breaking 
of  heads — it's  true  he  advanced  his  cudgel,  and  spoke 
of  laying  on,  and  asked  why  I  did  not  keep  the  public 
road,  and  such  like  ;  and  I  would  have  knocked  him  over 


RRtflliWORTH. 


23 


the  pate  handsomely  for  his  pains,  only  for  the  lady's 
presence,  who  might  have  swooned,  for  what  I  know." 

"  Now,  out  upon  thee  for  a  faint-spirited  slave  !"  said 
Lambourne  ;  "  what  adventurous  knight  ever  thought  of 
the  lady's  terror,  when  he  went  to  thwack  giant,  dragon, 
or  magician,  in  her  presence,  and  for  her  deliverance  ? 
But  why  talk  to  thee  of  dragons,  who  would  be  driven 
back  by  a  dragon-fly  ?  There  thou  hast  missed  the  rar- 
est opportunity !" 

"  Take  it  thyself,  then,  bully  Mike,"  answered  Gold- 
thred. — "  Yonder  is  the  enchanted  manor,  and  the  drag- 
on and  the  lady  all  at  thy  service,  if  thou  darest  venture 
on  them." 

«  Why,  so  I  would  for  a  quartern  of  sack,"  said  the 
soldier — "  Or  stay — I  am  foully  out  of  linen — wilt  thou 
bet  a  piece  of  Hollands  against  these  five  angels,  that  I 
go  not  up  to  the  Hall  to-morrow,  and  force  Tony  Foster 
to  introduce  me  to  his  fair  guest  ?" 

"  I  accept  your  wager,"  said  the  mercer  ;  "  and  I 
think,  though  thou  hadst  even  the  impudence  of  the  devil, 
I  shall  gain  on  thee  this  bout.  Our  landlord  here  shall 
hold  stakes,  and  I  will  stake  down  gold  till  I  send  thee 
linen." 

"  I  will  hold  stakes  on  no  such  matter,"  said  Gosling. 
"  Good  now,  my  kinsman,  drink  your  wine  in  quiet,  and 
let  such  ventures  alone.  I  promise  you,  Master  Foster 
hath  interest  enough  to  lay  you  up  in  lavender  in  the 
Castle  at  Oxford,  or  to  get  your  legs  made  acquainted 
with  the  town-stocks." 

"  That  would  be  but  renewing  an  old  intimacy ;  for 
Mike's  shins  and  the  town's  wooden  pinfold  have  been 
well  known  to  each  other  ere  now."  said  the  mercer ; 
"  but  he  shall  not  budge  from  this  wager,  unless  he  means 
to  pay  forfeit." 

"  Forfeit  ?"  said  Lambourne  ;  "  I  scorn  it.  I  value 
Tony  Foster's  wrath  no  more  than  a  shelled  pea-cod,  nnd 
I  will  visit  his  Lindabrides,  by  Saint  George,  be  he  wil- 
ling or  no." 


24 


KE  Nil  WORTH. 


"  I  would  gladly  pay  you  your  halves  of  the  risk,  sir," 
said  Tressilian,  "  to  be  permitted  to  accompany  you  on 
the  adventure." 

"  In  what  would  that  advantage  you,  sir  ?"  answered 
Lambourne. 

"In  nothing,  sir,"  said  Tressilian,  "unless  to  mark 
the  skill  and  valour  with  which  you  conduct  yourself.  I 
am  a  traveller,  who  seeks  for  strange  rencounters,  and  un- 
common passages,  as  the  knights  of  yore  did  after  ad- 
ventures, and  feats  of  arms." 

"  Nay,  if  it  pleasures  you  to  see  a  trout  tickled,"  an- 
swered Lambourne,  "  I  care  not  how  many  witness  my 
skill.  And  so  here  I  drink  to  success  to  my  enterprize ; 
and  he  that  will  not  pledge  me  on  his  knees  is  a  rascal, 
and  I  will  cut  his  legs  off  by  the  garters." 

The  draught  which  Michael  Lambourne  took  upon  this 
occasion,  had  been  preceded  by  so  many  others,  that 
reason  tottered  on  her  throne.  He  swore  one  or  two  in- 
coherent oaths  at  the  mercer,  who  refused,  reasonably 
enough,  to  pledge  him  to  a  sentiment,  which  inferred  the 
loss  of  his  own  wager. 

"  Wilt  thou  chop  logic  with  me,"  said  Lambourne, 
"  thou  knave,  with  no  more  brains  than  are  in  a  skein  of 
ravelled  silk  ?  by  Heaven,  I  will  cut  thee  into  fifty  yards 
of  galloon  lace  !" 

But  as  he  attempted  to  draw  his  sword  for  this  dough- 
ty purpose,  Michael  Lambourne  was  seized  upon  by  the 
tapster  and  the  chamberlain,  and  conveyed  to  his  own 
apartment,  there  to  sleep  himself  sober  at  his  leisure. 

The  party  then  broke  up,  and  the  guests  took  their 
leave  ;  much  more  to  the  contentment  of  mine  host  than 
some  of  the  company,  who  were  unwilling  to  quit  good 
liquor,  when  it  was  to  be  had  for  free  cost,  so  long  as  they 
were  able  to  sit  by  it.  They  were,  however,  compelled 
to  remove ;  and  go  at  length  they  did,  leaving  Gosling 
and  Tressilian  in  the  empty  apartment. 

"  By  my  faith,"  said  the  former,  "  I  wonder  where 
our  great  folks  find  pleasure,  when  they  spend  their  means 
in  entertainments,  and  in  playing  mine  host  without  send- 


KEX1LW0RTH. 


25 


ing  in  a  reckoning.  It  is  what  I  but  rarely  practise  ; 
and  whenever  I  do,  by  Saint  Julian,  it  grieves  me  beyond 
measure.  Each  of  these  empty  stoups  now,  which  my 
nephew  and  his  drunken  comrades  have  swilled  off.  should 
have  been  a  matter  of  profit  to  one  in  my  line,  and  I  must 
set  them  down  a  dead  loss.  I  cannot,  for  my  heart,  con- 
ceive the  pleasure  of  noise,  and  nonsense,  and  drunken 
freaks,  and  drunken  quarrels,  and  smut,  and  blasphemy, 
and  forth,  when  a  man  los£s  money  instead  of  gaining 
by  it.  And  yet  many  a  fair  estate  is  lost  in  upholding 
such  an  useless  course,  and  that  greatly  contributes  to  the 
decay  of  publicans  ;  for  who  the  devil  do  you  think  would 
pay  for  drink  at  the  Black  Bear,  when  he  can  have  it  for 
nothing  at  my  Lord's  or  the  Squire's  ?" 

Tressilian  perceived  that  the  wine  had  made  some  im- 
pression even  on  the  seasoned  brain  of  mine  host,  which 
was  chiefly  to  be  inferred  from  his  declaiming  against 
drunkenness.  As  he  himself  had  carefully  avoided  the 
bowl,  he  would  have  availed  himself  of  the  frankness  of 
the  moment,  to  extract  from  Gosling  some  further  infor- 
mation upon  the  subject  of  Anthony  Foster,  and  the  lady 
whom  the  mercer  had  seen  in  his  mansion-house  5  but 
his  inquiries  only  set  the  host  upon  a  new  theme  of  de- 
clamation against  the  wiles  of  the  fair  sex,  in  which  he 
brought,  at  full  length,  the  whole  wisdom  of  Solomon  to 
reinforce  his  own.  Finally,  he  turned  his  admonitions, 
mixed  with  much  objurgation  upon  his  tapsters  and  draw- 
ers, who  were  employed  in  removing  the  relics  of  the  en- 
tertainment, and  restoring  order  to  the  apartment ;  and 
at  length,  joining  example  to  precept,  though  with  no 
good  success,  he  demolished  a  salver  with  half  a  score  of 
glasses,  in  attempting  to  show  how  such  service  was  done 
at  the  Three  Cranes  in  the  Vintry,  then  the  most  topping 
tavern  in  London.  This  last  accident  so  far  recalled  him 
to  his  better  self,  that  he  retired  to  his  bed,  slept  sound, 
and  awoke  a  new  man  in  the  morning. 
3    vol.  1. 


26 


KENT1W0RTH. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Nay,  I'll  hold  touch — the  game  shall  be  play'cl  out, 
It  ne'er  shall  stop  for  me,  this  merry  wager  ; 
That  which  I  say  when  gamesome,  I'll  avouch 
In  my  most  sober  mood,  ne'er  trust  me  else. 

The  Hazard-table. 

-  And  how  doth  your  kinsman,  good  mine  host?"  said 
Tressilian,  when  Giles  .Gosling  first  appeared  in  the  pub- 
lie  room  on  the  morning  following  the  revel  which  we 
described  in  the  last  chapter.  "  Is  he  well,  and  will  he 
abide  by  his  wager  ?" 

"  For  well,  sir,  he  started  two  hours  since,  and  has 
visited  I  know  not  what  purlieus  of  his  old  companions ; 
hath  but  now  returned,  and  is  at  this  instant  breakfasting 
on  new-laid  eggs  and  muscadine  ;  and  for  his  wager,  I 
caution  you  as  a  friend  to  have  little  to  do  with  that, 
or  indeed  with  aught  that  Mike  proposes.  Wherefore, 
I  counsel  you  to  a  warm  breakfast  upon  a  culiss,  which 
shall  restore  the  tone  of  the  stomach  ;  and  let  my  nephew 
a  ad  Master  Goldthred  swagger  about  their  wager  as 
they  list." 

"  It  seems  to  me,  mine  host,"  said  Tressilian,  "  that 
you  know  not  well  what  to  say  about  this  kinsman  of 
yours  ;  and  that  you  can  neither  blame  nor  commend  him 
without  some  twinge  of  conscience." 

"  You  have  spoken  truly,  Master  Tressilian,"  replied 
Giles  Gosling.  "  There  is  natural  affection  whimper- 
ing into  one  ear,  fi  Giles,  Giles,  why  wilt  thou  take  away 
the  good  name  of  thy  own  nephew  ?  Wilt  thou  defame 
thy  sister's  son,  Giles  Gosling  ?  wilt  thou  defoul  thine  own 
nest,  dishonour  thine  own  blood  ?'  And  then,  again, 
comes  Justice,  and  says,  '  Here  is  a  worthy  guest  as  ever 
came  to  the  bonny  Black  Bear  ;  one  who  never  challeng- 
ed a  reckoning,  (as  I  say  to  your  face  you  never  did, 


KEN  III  WORTH* 


27 


Master  Tressilian — not  that  you  have  had  cause,)  one  who 
knows  not  why  he  came,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  or  when  he 
is  going  away  ;  and  wilt  thou,  being  a  publican,  having 
paid  scot  and  lot  these  thirty  years  in  the  town  of  Cuinnor, 
and  being  at  this  instant  headborough,  wilt  thou  suffer  this 
guest  of  guests,  this  man  of  men,  this  six-hooped  pot  (as 
I  may  say)  of  a  traveller,  to  fall  into  the  meshes  of  thy 
nephew,  who  is  known  for  a  swasher  and  a  desperate 
Dick,  a  carder  and  a  dicer,  a  professor  of  the  seven 
damnable  sciences,  if  ever  man  took  degrees  in  them  ?' — 
No,  by  Heaven  !  I  might  wink,  and  let  him  catch  such  a 
small  butterfly  as  Goldthred  ;  but  thou,  my  guest,  shalt 
be  forewarned,  forearmed,  so  thou  wilt  but  listen  to  thy 
trusty  host." 

"  Why,  mine  host,  thy  counsel  shall  not  be  cast  away," 
replied  Tressilian  ;  "  however,  I  must  uphold  my  share 
in  this  wager,  having  once  passed  my  word  to  that  effect. 
But  lend  me,  I  pray,  some  of  thy  counsel.— This  Foster, 
who  or  what  is  he,  and  why  makes  he  such  mystery  of 
his  female  inmate  ?" 

"  Troth,"  replied  Gosling,  "  T  can  add  but  little  to 
what  you  heard  last  night.  He  was  one  of  Queen  Mary's 
Papists,  and  now  he  is  one  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Prot- 
estants ;  he  was  an  on-hanger  of  the  Abbot  of  Abingdon, 
and  now  he  lives  as  master  of  the  manor-house.  Above 
all,  he  was  poor  and  is  rich.  Folks  talk  of  private  apart- 
ments in  his  old  waste  mansion-house,  bedizened  fine 
enough  to  serve  the  queen,  God  bless  her.  Some  men 
think  he  found  a  treasure  in  the  orchard,  some  that  he  sold 
himself  to  the  devil  for  treasure,  and  some  say  that  he 
cheated  the  abbot  out  of  the  church  plate,  which  was 
hidden  in  the  old  manor-house  at  the  Reformation.  Rich, 
however,  he  is,  and  God  and  his  conscience,  with  the  devil 
perhaps  besides,  only  know  how  he  came  by  it.  He  has 
sulky  ways  too,  breaking  off  intercourse  with  all  that  are 
of  the  place,  as  if  he  had  either  some  strange  secret  to 
keep,  or  held  himself  to  be  made  of  another  clay  than  we 
are.  I  think  it  likely  my  kinsman  and  he  will  quarrel,  if 
Mike  thrust  his  acquaintance  on  him  ;  and  I  am  sorry 


28 


KENILWOKTH. 


that  you,  my  worthy  Master  Tressilian,  will  still  think  of 

going  in  my  nephew's  company." 

Tressilian  again  answered  him,  that  he  would  proceed 
with  great  caution,  and  that  he  should  have  no  fears  on 
his  account  j  in  short,  he  bestowed  on  him  all  the  custom- 
ary assurances  with  which  those  who  are  determined  on  a 
rash  action,  are  wont  to  parry  the  advice  of  their  friends. 

Meantime,  the  traveller  accepted  the  landlord's  invita- 
tion, and  had  just  finished  the  excellent  breakfast  which 
was  served  to  him  and  Gosling  by  pretty  Cicily,  the 
beauty  of  the  bar,  when  the  hero  of  the  preceding  night, 
Michael  Lambourne,  entered  the  apartment.  His  toil- 
ette had  apparently  cost  him  some  labour,  for  his  clothes, 
which  differed  from  those  he  wore  on  his  journey,  were 
of  the  newest  fashion,  and  put  on  with  great  attention  to 
the  display  of  his  person. 

"  By  my  faith,  uncle,"  said  the  gallant,  "  you  made  a 
wet  night  of  it,  and  I  feel  it  followed  by  a  dry  morning. 
I  will  pledge  yon  willingly  in  a  cup  of  bastard. — How,  my 
pretty  coz,  Cicily  !  why,  I  left  you  but  a  child  in  the  cra- 
dle, and  there  thou  stand'st  in  thy  velvet  waistcoat,  as  light 
a  girl  as  England's  sun  shines  on.  Know  thy  friends  and 
kindred,  Cicily,  and  come  hither,  child,  that  1  may  kiss 
thee,  and  give  thee  my  blessing." 

"  Concern  not  yourself  about  Cicily,  kinsman,"  said 
Giles  Gosling,  "  but  e'en  let  her  go  her  way,  a'  God's 
name  ;  for  although  your  mother  were  her  father's  sister, 
yet  that  shall  not  make  you  and  her  cater-cousins." 

"  Why,  uncle,"  replied  Lambourne,  "  think'st  thou  I 
am  an  infidel,  and  would  harm  those  of  mine  own  house  ?" 

"  It  is  for  no  harm  that  I  speak,  Mike,"  answered  his 
uncle,  "  but  a  simple  humour  of  precaution  which  I  have. 
True,  thou  art  as  well  gilded  as  a  snake  when  he  casts 
his  old  slough  in  the  spring-time  ;  but  for  all  that,  thou 
creepest  not  into  my  Eden.  I  will  look  after  mine  Eve, 
Mike,  and  so  content  thee. — But  how  brave  thou  be'st, 
lad  !  To  look  on  thee  now,  and  compare  thee  with  Mas- 
ter Tressilian  here,  in  his  sad-coloured  riding-suit,  who 


KENIL  WORTH. 


would  not  say  that  thou  wert  the  real  gentleman,  and  he 

the  tapster's  boy  ?" 

"  Troth,  uncle,"  replied  Lambourne,  "  no  one  would 
say  so  but  one  of  your  country-breeding,  that  knows  no 
better.  I  will  say,  and  I  care  not  who  hears  me,  there  is 
something  about  the  real  gentry  that  few  men  come  up  to 
that  are  not  born  and  bred  to  the  mystery.  I  wot  not 
where  the  trick  lies  ;  but  although  I  can  enter  an  ordi- 
nary with  as  much  audacity,  rebuke  the  waiters  and  draw- 
ers as  loudly,  drink  as  deep  a  health,  swear  as  round  an 
oath,  and  fling  my  gold  as  freely  about  as  any  of  the  jing- 
ling spurs  and  white  feathers  that  are  around  me, — yet, 
hang  me  if  I  can  ever  catch  the  true  grace  of  it,  though 
1  have  practised  for  an  hundred  times.  The  man  of  the 
house  sets  me  lowest  at  the  board,  and  carves  to  me  the 
last ;  and  the  drawer  says, — 6  Coming,  friend,'  without 
any  more  reverence  or  regardful  addition.  But  hang  it, 
let  it  pass,  care  killed  a  cat.  I  have  gentry  enough  to 
pass  the  trick  on  Tony  Fire-the-Faggot,  and  that  will  do 
for  the  matter  in  hand." 

"  You  hold  your  purpose,  then,  of  visiting  your  old 
acquaintance  ?"  said  Tressilian  to  the  adventurer. 

"  Ay,  sir,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  when  stakes  are 
made,  the  game  irrast  be  played  ;  that  is  gamester's  law, 
all  over  the  world.  You,  sir,  unless  my  memory  fails  me, 
(for  I  did  sleep  it  somewhat  too  deeply  in  the  sack-butt) 
took  some  share  in  my  hazard." 

"  I  propose  to  accompany  you  in  your  adventure,"  said 
Tressilian,  "  if  you  will  do  me  so  much  grace  as  to  per- 
mit me  ;  and  I  have  staked,  my  share  of  the  forfeit  in  the 
hands  of  our  worthy  host." 

"  That  he  hath,"  answered  Giles  Gosling,  "  in  as  fair 
Harry-nobles  as  ever  were  melted  into  sack  by  a  good 
fellow.  So,  luck  to  your  enterprize,  since  you  will  needs 
venture  on  Tony  Foster  ;  but,  by  my  credit,  you  were 
better  take  another  draught  before  you  depart,  for  your 
welcome  at  the  Hall,  yonder,  will  be  somewhat  of  the 
driest.    And  if  you  do  get  into  peril,  beware  of  taking  to 

3*     VOL.  I. 


so 


KENI1  WORTH. 


cold  steel  ;  but  send  for  rne,  Giles  Gosling  the  headbor- 
ough,  and  I  may  be  able  to  make  something  out  of  Tony 
yet,  for  as  proud  as  he  is." 

The  nephew  dutifully  obeyed  his  uncle's  hint,  by  taking 
a  second  and  deeper  pull  at  the  tankard,  observing,  that 
his  wit  never  served  him  so  well  as  when  he  had  washed 
his  temples  with  a  deep  morning's  draught ;  and  they  set 
forth  together  for  the  habitation  of  Anthony  Foster. 

The  village  of  Cumnor  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a  hill, 
and  in  a  wooded  park  closely  adjacent,  was  situated  the 
ancient  mansion  occupied  at  this  time  by  Anthony  Foster, 
of  which  the  ruins  may  be  still  extant.  The  park  was 
then  full  of  large  trees,  and,  in  particular,  of  ancient  and 
mighty  oaks,  which  stretched  their  giani  arms  over  the 
high  wall  surrounding  the  demesne,  thus  giving  it  a  mel- 
ancholy, secluded,  and  monastic  appearance.  The  en- 
trance to  the  park  lay  through  an  old-fashioned  gateway 
in  the  outer  wall,  the  door  of  which  was  closed  by  two 
huge  oaken  leaves,  thickly  studded  with  nails,  like  the 
gate  of  an  old  town. 

"  We  shall  be  finely  holped  up  here,"  said  Michael 
Lambourne,  looking  at  the  gateway  and  gate,  "  if  this 
fellow's  suspicious  humour  should  refuse  us  admission  al- 
together, as  it  is  like  he  may,  in  casP^this  linsey-wolsey 
fellow  of  a  mercer's  visit  to  his  premises  has  disquieted 
him.  But,  no,"  he  added,  pushing  the  huge  gate,  which 
gave  way,  "  the  door  stands  invitingly  open  ;  and  here  we 
are  within  .the  forbidden  ground,  without  other  impedi- 
ment than  the  passive  resistance  of  a  heavy  oak  door, 
moving  on  rusty  hinges." 

They  stood  now  in  an  avenue  overshadowed  by  such 
old  trees  as  we  have  described,  and  which  had  been  bor- 
dered at  one  time  by  high  hedges  of  yew  and  holly.  But 
these  having  been  untrimmed  for  many  years,  had  run  up 
into  great  bushes,  or  rather  dwarf-trees,  and  now  encroach- 
ed, with  their  dark  and  melancholy  boughs,  upon  the  road 
which  they  once  had  screened.  The  avenue  itself  was 
grown  up  with  grass,  and,  in  one  or  two  places,  interrupted 
by  piles  of  withered  brushwood,  which  had  been  lopped 


KENIIiWORTH. 


31 


from  the  trees  cut  down  in  the  neighbouring  park,  and 
was  here  stacked  for  drying.  Formal  walks  and  avenues, 
which  at  different  points,  crossed  this  principal  approach, 
were,  in  like  manner,  choked  up  and  interrupted  by  piles 
of  brushwood  and  billets,  and  in  other  places,  by  under- 
wood and  brambles.  Besides  the  general  effect  of  deso- 
lation which  is  so  strongly  impressed,  whenever  we  behold 
the  contrivances  of  man  wasted  and  obliterated  by  neg- 
lect, and  witness  the  marks  of  social  life  effaced  gradu- 
ally by  the  influence  of  vegetation,  the  size  of  the  trees, 
and  the  outspreading  extent  of  their  boughs,  diffused  a 
gloom  over  the  scene,  even  when  the  sun  was  at  highest, 
and  made  a  proportional  impression  on  the  mind  of  those 
who  visited  it.  This  was  felt  even  by  Michael  Lam- 
bourne,  however  alien  his  habits  were  to  receiving  any 
impressions,  excepting  from  things  which  addressed  them- 
selves immediately  to  his  passions. 

"  This  wood  is  as  dark  as  a  wolf's  mouth,"  said  he  to 
Tressilian,  as  they  walked  together  slowly  along  the  soli- 
tary and  broken  approach,  and  were  just  come  in  sight  of 
the  monastic  front  of  the  old  mansion,  with  its  shafted 
windows,  brick  walls,  overgrown  with  ivy  and  creeping 
shrubs,  and  twisted  stalks  of  chimneys,  of  heavy  stone- 
work. "  And  yet,"  continued  Lambourne,  "  it  is  fairly 
done  on  the  part  of  Foster  too  ;  for  since  he  chooses  not 
visiters,  it  is  right  to  keep  his  place  in  a  fashion  that  will 
invite  few  to  trespass  upon  his  privacy.  But  had  he  been 
the  Anthony  I  once  knew  him,  these  sturdy  oaks  had  long 
since  become  the  property  of  some  honest  woodmonger, 
and  the  manor-close  here  had  looked  lighter  at  midnight 
than  it  now  does  at  noon,  while  Foster  played  fast  and 
loose  with  the  price,  in  some  cunning  corner  in  the  pur- 
lieus of  Whitefriars." 

"  Was  he  then  such  an  unthrift,"  asked  Tressilian. 

"  He  was,"  answered  Lambourne,  "  like  the  rest  of 
us,  no  saint,  and  no  saver.  But  what  I  liked  worst  of 
Tony  was,  that  he  loved  to  take  his  pleasure  by  himself, 
and  grudged,  as  men  say,  every  drop  of  water  that  went 
past  his  own  mill.    I  have  known  him  deal  with  such 


Si 


KENH  WORTH. 


measures  of  wine  when  he  was  alone,  as  I  would  not  have 
ventured  on  with  aid  of  the  best  toper  in  Berkshire  ; — 
that,  and  some  sway  towards  superstition,  which  he  had 
by  temperament,  rendered  him  unworthy  the  company  of 
a  good  fellow.  And  now  he  has  earthed  himself  here,  in 
a  den  just  befitting  such  a  sly  fox  as  himself." 

"  May  I  ask  you,  Master  Lambourne,"  said  Tressilian, 
"  since  your  old  companion's  humour  jumps  so  little  with 
your  own,  wherefore  you  are  so  desirous  to  renew  ac- 
quaintance with  him  ?" 

"  And  may  I  ask  you,  in  return,  Master  Tressilian,'5 
answered  Lambourne,  "  wherefore  you  have  shown  your- 
self so  desirous  to  accompany  me  on  this  party  ?" 

"  I  told  you  my  motive,"  said  Tressilian,  "  when  I  took 
share  in  your  wager, — it  was  simple  -curiosity." 

"  La  you  there  now  !"  answered  Lambourne  :  "  See 
how  you  civil  and  discreet  gentlemen  think  to  use  us  who 
live  by  the  free  exercise  of  our  wits  !  Had  I  answered 
your  question,  by  saying  that  it  was  simple  curiosity  which 
led  me  to  visit  my  old  comrade  Anthony  Foster.  I  war- 
rant you  had  set  it  down  for  an  evasion,  and  a  turn  of  my 
trade.    But  any  answer,  I  suppose,  must  serve  my  turn." 

"  And  wherefore  should  not  bare  curiosity,"  said  Tres- 
silian, u  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  my  taking  this  walk 
with  you  ?" 

"  O,  content  yourself,  sir,"  replied  Lambourne  ^  "  you 
cannot  put  the  change  on  me  so  easy  as  you  think,  for  I 
have  lived  among  the  quick-stirring  spirits  of  the  age  too 
long,  to  swallow  chaff  for  grain.  You  are  a  gentleman 
of  birth  and  breeding — your  bearing  makes  it  good  ; — of 
civil  habits  and  fair  reputation — your  manners  declare  it, 
and  my  uncle  avouches  it  ;  and  yet  you  associate  your- 
self with  a  sort  of  scant-of-grace,  as  men  call  me  ;  and, 
knowing  me  to  be  such,  you  make  yourself  my  compan- 
ion in  a  visit  to  a  man  whom  you  are  a  stranger  to,  and 
all  out  of  mere  curiosity  forsooth  ?  The  excuse,  if  cu- 
riously balanced,  would  be  found  to  want  some  scruples 
of  just  weight,  or  so." 


KENIL  WORTH. 


rS3 


"  If  your  suspicions  were  just,"  said  Tressilian,  "  you 
have  shown  no  confidence  in  me  to  invite  or  deserve 
mine." 

"  O,  if  that  be  all,"  said  Lambourne,  "  my  motives  lie 
above  water.  While  this  gold  of  mine  lasts," — taking  out 
his  purse,  chucking  it  into  the  air,  and  catching  it  as  it 
fell, — "  I  will  make  it  buy  pleasure,  and  when  it  is  out,  I 
must  have  more.  Now,  if  this  mysterious  Lady  of  the 
Manor — this  fair  Lindabrides  of  Tony  Fire-the-Faggot, 
be  so  admirable  a  piece  as  men  say,  why  there  is  chance 
that  she  may  aid  me  to  melt  my  nobles  into  groats  ;  and 
again,  if  Anthony  be  so  wealthy  a  chuff  as  report  speaks 
him,  he  may  prove  the  philosopher's  stone  to  me,  and 
convert  my  groats  into  fair  rose-nobles  again." 

"  A  comfortable  proposal  truly,"  said  Tressilian  ; 
"  but  I  see  not  what  chance  there  is  of  accomplishing  it." 

"  Not  to-day,  or  perchance  to-morrow,"  answered 
Lambourne  ;  "  I  expect  not  to  catch  the  old  Jack  till  I 
have  disposed  my  ground-baits  handsomely.  But  I  know 
something  more  of  his  affairs  this  morning  than  I  did  last 
night,  and  I  will  so  use  my  knowledge  that  he  shall  think 
it  more  perfect  than  it  is. — Nay,  without  expecting  either 
pleasure  or  profit,  or  both,  I  had  not  stepped  a  stride 
within  this  manor,  I  can  tell  you  ;  for  I  promise  you  I 
hold  our  visit  not  altogether  without  risk.  But  here  we 
are,  and  we  must  make  the  best  on't." 

While  he  thus  spoke,  they  had  entered  a  large  orchard, 
which  surrounded  the  house  on  two  sides,  though  the 
trees  abandoned  by  the  care  of  man,  were  overgrown  and 
mossy,  and  seemed  to  bear  little  fruit.  Those  which  had 
been  formerly  trained  as  espaliers,  had  now  resumed  their 
natural  mode  of  growing,  and  exhibited  grotesque  forms, 
partaking  of  the  original  training  which  they  had  receiv- 
ed. The  greater  part  of  the  ground,  which  had  once 
been  parterres  and  flower  gardens,  was  suffered  in  like 
manner  to  run  to  waste,  excepting  a  few  patches,  which 
had  |>een  dug  up,  and  planted  with  ordinary  pot-herbs. 
Some  statues,  which  had  ornamented  the  garden  in  its 
days  of  splendour,  were  now  thrown  down  from  their  ped- 


34 


KENIL  WORTH. 


estals  and  broken  in  pieces,  and  a  large  summer-house, 
having  a  heavy  stone  front,  decorated  with  carving,  rep- 
resenting the  life  and  actions  of  Sampson,  was  in  the  same 
dilapidated  condition. 

They  had  just  traversed  this  garden  of  the  sluggard, 
and  were  within  a  few  steps  of  the  door  of  the  mansion, 
when  Lambourne  had  ceased  speaking  ;  a  circumstance 
very  agreeable  to  Tressilian,  as  it  saved  him  the  embar- 
rassment of  either  commenting  upon  or  replying  to  the 
frank  avowal  which  his  companion  had  just  made  of  the 
sentiments  and  views  which  induced  him  to  come  hither. 
Lambourne  knocked  roundly  and  boldly  at  the  huge  door 
of  the  mansion,  observing  at  the  same  time  he  had  seen  a 
less  strong  one  upon  a  county  jail.  It  was  not  until  they 
had  knocked  more  than  once,  that  an  aged,  sour-visaged 
domestic  reconnoitered  them  through  a  small  square  hole 
in  the  door,  well-secured  with  bars  of  iron,  and  demand- 
ed what  they  wanted. 

"  To  speak  with  Master  Foster  instantly,  on  pressing 
business  of  the  state,"  was  the  ready  reply  of  Michael 
Lambourne. 

"  Methinks  you  will  find  difficulty- to  make  that  good," 
said  Tressilian  in  a  whisper  to  his  companion,  while  the 
servant  went  to  carry  the  message  to  his  master. 

"  Tush,"  replied  the  adventurer  ;  "  no  soldier  would 
go  on  were  he  always  to  consider  when  and  how  he  should 
come  off.  Let  us  once  obtain  entrance,  and  all  will  go 
well  enough. 

In  a  short  time  the  servant  returned,  and,  drawing  with 
a  careful  hand  both  bolt  and  bar,  opened  the  gate,  which 
admitted  them  through  an  arch-way  into  a  square  court, 
surrounded  by  buildings.  Opposite  to  the  arch  was  anoth- 
er door,  which  the  serving-man  in  like  manner  unlocked, 
and  thus  introduced  them  into  a  stone-paved  parlour, 
where  there  was  but  little  furniture,  and  that  of  the  rudest 
and  most  ancient  fashion.  The  windows  were  tall  and 
ample,  reaching  almost  to  the  roof  of  the  room,  which 
was  composed  of  black  oak  ;  those  opening  to  the  quad- 


KENILWORTfl. 


35 


rangle,  were  obscured  by  the  height  of  the  surrounding 
buildings,  and,  as  they  were  traversed  with  massive  shafts 
of  solid  stone-work,  and  thickly  oainted  with  religious  de- 
vices, and  scenes  taken  from  scripture  history,  by  no 
means  admitted  light  in  proportion  to  their  size  ;  and  what 
did  penetrate  through  them,  partook  of  the  dark  and 
gloomy  tinge  of  the  stained  glass. 

Tressilian  and  his  guide  had  time  enough  to  observe 
all  these  particulars,  for  they  waited  some  space  in  the 
apartment  ere  the  present  master  of  the  mansion  at  length 
made  his  appearance.  Prepared  as  he  was  to  see  an  in- 
auspicious and  ill-looking  person,  the  ugliness  of  Anthony 
Fcsier  considerably  exceeded  what  Tressilian  had  antici- 
pated. He  was  of  middle  stature,  built  strongly,  but  so 
clumsily,  as  to  border  on  deformity,  and  to  give  all  his 
motions  the  ungainly  awkwardness  of  a  left-legged  and 
left-handed  man.  His  hair,  in  arranging  which  men  at 
that  time,  as  at  present,  were  very  nice  and  curious,  in- 
stead of  being  carefully  cleaned  and  disposed  into  short 
curls,  or  else  set  up  on  end,  as  is  represented  in  old  paint- 
ings, in  a  manner  resembling  that  used  by  fine  gentlemen 
of  our  own  day,  escaped  in  sable  negligence  from  under 
a  furred  bonnet,  and  hung  in  elf-locks,  which  seemed 
strangers  to  the  comb,  over  his  rugged  brows,  and  around 
his  very  singular  and  unprepossessing  countenance.  His 
keen  dark  eyes  were  deep  set  beneath  broad  and  shaggy 
eyebrows,  and,  as  they  were  usually  bent  on  the  ground, 
seemed  as  if  they  were  themselves  ashamed  of  the  ex- 
pression natural  to  them,  and  were  desirous  to  conceal  it 
from  the  observation  of  men.  At  times,  however,  when, 
more  intent  on  observing  others,  he  suddenly  raised  them, 
and  fixed  them  keenly  on  those  with  whom  he  conversed, 
they  seemed  to  express  both  the  fiercer  passions,  and  the 
power  of  mind  which  could  at  will  suppress  or  disguise 
the  intensity  of  inward  feeling.  The  features  which  cor- 
responded with  these  eyes  and  this  form  were  irregular, 
and  marked  so  as  to  be  fixed  forever  on  the  mind  of  him 
who  had  once  seen  them.  Upon  the  whole,  as  Tressilian 
could  not  help  acknowledging  to  himself,  the  Anthony 


^°  KEN  III  WORTH. 

Foster  who  now  stood  before  them,  was  the  last  person, 
judging  from  personal  appearance,  upon  whom  one  would 
have  chosen  to  intrude  an  unexpected  and  undesired  visit. 
His  atfire  was  a  doublet  of  russet  leather,  like  those  worn 
by  the  better  sort  of  country  folks,  girt  with  a  buff  belt, 
in  which  was  stuck,  on  the  right  side,  a  long  knife  or 
dudgeon  dagger,  and  on  the  other  a  cutlass.  He  raised 
his  eyes  as  he  entered  the  room,  and  fixed  a  keenly  pen- 
etrating glance  upon  his  two  visiters,  then  cast  them  down 
as  if  counting  his  steps,  while  he  advanced  slowly  into 
the  middle  of  the  room,  and  said,  in  a  low  and  smother- 
ed tone  of  voice,  "  Let  me  pray  you,  gentlemen,  to  tell 
me  the  cause  of  this  visit." 

He  looked  as  if  he  expected  tb§  answer  from  Tres- 
silian  ;  so  true  was  Lambourne's  observation,  that  the  su- 
perior air  of  breeding  and  dignity  shone  through  the  dis- 
guise of  an  inferior  dress.  But  it  was  Michael  who  re- 
plied to  him,  with  the  easy  familiarity  of  an  old  friend, 
and  a  tone  which  seemed  unembarrassed  by  any  doubt  of 
the  most  cordial  reception. 

"  Ha  !  my  dear  friend  and  ingle,  Tony  Foster  !"  he 
exclaimed,  seizing  upon  the  unwilling  hand,  and  shaking 
it  with  such  emphasis  as  almost  to  stagger  the  sturdy  frame 
of  the  person  whom  he  addressed  ;  "  how  fares  it  with 
you  for  many  a  long  year  ? — What !  have  you  altogether 
forgotten  your  friend,  gossip,  and  play-fellow,  Michael 
Lambourne  ?" 

"  Michael  Lambourne  !"  said  Foster,  looking  at  him 
a  moment,  then  dropping  his  eyes,  and  with  little  cere- 
mony extricating  his  hand  from  the  friendly  grasp  of  the 
person  by  whom  he  was  addressed,  "  are  you  Michael 
Lambourne  ?" 

"  Ay  ;  sure  as  you  are  Anthony  Foster,"  replied 
Lambourne. 

"  'Tis  well  !"  answered  his  sullen  host  ;  "  and  what 
may  Michael  Lambourne  expect  from  his  visit  hither  ?" 

"  Voto  a  Dios"  answered  Lambourne,  "  I  expected 
a  better  welcome  than  I  a,m  like  to  meet,  I  think." 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


37 


"  Why,  thou  gallows-bird — thou  jail-rat — thou  friend 
for  the  hangman  and  his  customers,"  replied  Foster, 
"  hast  thou  the  assurance  to  expect  countenance  from 
any  one  whose  neck  is  beyond  the  compass  of  a  Tyburn 
tippet  ?" 

"  It  may  be  with  me  as  you  say,"  replied  Lambourne  ; 
"  and  suppose  I  grant  it  to  be  so  for  argument's  sake,  I 
were  still  good  enough  society  for  mine  ancient  friend  An- 
thony  Fire-the-Faggot,  though  he  be,  for  the  present,  by 
some  indescribable  title,  the  master  of  Cumnor-Place." 

"  Hark  you,  Michael  Lambourne,"  said  Foster  ;  "  you 
are  a  gambler  now,  and  live  by  the  counting  of  chances 
— Compute  me  the  odds  that  I  do  not,  on  this  instant, 
throw  you  out  of  that  window  into  the  ditch  there." 

"  Twenty  to  one  that  you  do  not,"  answered  the  sturdy 
visiter. 

"  And  wherefore,  I  pray  you  ?"  demanded  Anthony 
Foster,  setting  his  teeth  and  compressing  his  lips,  like  one 
who  endeavours  to  suppress  some  violent  internal  emotion. 

"  Because,"  said  Lambourne,  coolly,  "  you  dare  not 
for  your  life  lay  a  finger  on  me.  I  am  younger  and  strong- 
er than  you,  and  have  in  me  a  double  portion  of  the  fight- 
ing devil,  though  not  it  may  be,  quite  so  much  of  the  un- 
dermining fiend,  that  finds  an  under-ground  way  to  his 
purpose — who  hides  halters  under  folk's  pillows,  and  who 
puts  ratsbane  into  their  porridge,  as  the  stage-play  says." 

Foster  looked  at  him  earnestly,  then  turned  away  and 
paced  the  room  twice,  with  the  same  steady  and  consid- 
erate pace  with  which  he  had  entered  it  ;  then  suddenly 
came  back  and  extended  his  hand  to  Michael  Lambourne, 
saying,  "  Be  not  wroth  with  me,  good  Mike  ;  I  did  but 
try  whether  thou  hadst  parted  with  aught  of  thine  old  and 
honourable  frankness,  which  your  enviers  and  backbiters 
called  saucy  impudence." 

"  Let  them  call  it  what  they  will,"  said  Michael  Lam- 
bourne, "  it  is  the  commodity  we  must  carry  through  the 
world  with  us. — Uds  daggers  !  I  tell  thee,  man,  mine 
own  stock  of  assurance  was  too  small  to  trade  upon,  I 

4     VOL.  I. 


38 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


was  fain  to  take  in  a  ton  or  two  more  of  brass  at  every 
port  where  I  touched  in  the  voyage  of  life  ;  and  I  started- 
overboard  what  modesty  and  scruples  I  had  remaining,  in 
order  to  make  room  for  the  stowage." 

"  Nay,  nay,5'  replied  Foster,  "  touching  scruples  and 
modesty,  you  sailed  hence  in  ballast. — But  who  is  this 
gallant,  honest  Mike  ? — is  he  a  Corinthian — a  cutter  like 
thyself?" 

"  I  prithee,  know  Master  Tressilian,  bully  Foster,"  re-  ' 
plied  Lambourne,  presenting  his  friend  in  answer  to  his 
friend's  question,  "  know  him  and  honour  him,  for  he  is  a 
gentleman  of  many  admirable  qualities  ;  and  though  he 
trafncs  not  in  my  line  of  business,  at  least  so  far  as  I  know, 
he  has,  nevertheless,  a  just  respect  and  admiration  for 
artists  of  our  class.  He  will  come  to  in  time,  as  seldom 
fails  ;  but  as  yet  he  is  only  a  Neophyte,  only  a  Proselyte, 
and  frequents  the  company  of  cocks  of  the  game,  as  a 
puny  fencer  does  the  schools  of  the  masters,  to  see  how 
a  foil  is  handled  by  the  teachers  of  .defence." 

"  If  such  be  his  quality,  I  will  pray  your  company  in 
another  chamber,  honest  Mike,  for  what  I  have  to  say  to 
thee  is  for  thy  private  ear. — Meanwhile,  I  pray  you,  sir, 
to  abide  us  in  this  apartment,  and  without  leaving  it — 
there  be  those  in  this  house  who  would  be  alarmed  by 
the  sight  of  a  strangei  ." 

Tressilian  acquiesced,  and  the  two  worthies  left  the 
apartment  together,  in  which  he  remained  alone  to  await 
their  return. 


KENILWORTH. 


39 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Not  serve  two  masters  ? — Here's  a  youth  will  try  it — 
Would  fain  serve  God,  yet  give  the  devil  his  due  ; 
Says  grace  before  he  doth  a  deed  of  villany, 
And  returns  thanks  devoutly  when  'tis  acted. 

Old  Play. 

The  room  into  which  the  Master  of  Cumnor-Place 
conducted  his  worthy  visitant,  was  of  greater  extent  than 
that  in  which  they  had  at  first  conversed,  and  had  yet 
more  the  appearance  of  dilapidation.  Large  oaken 
presses,  filled  with  shelves  of  the  same  wTood,  surrounded 
the  room,  and  had  at  one  time  served  for  the  arrangement 
of  a  numerous  collection  of  books,  many  of  which  yet 
remained,  but  torn  and  defaced,  covered  with  dust,  de- 
prived of  their  costly  clasps  and  bindings,  and  tossed  to- 
gether in  heaps  upon  the  shelves,  as  things  altogether  dis- 
regarded, and  abandoned  to  the  pleasure  of  every  spoiler. 
The  very  presses  themselves  seemed  to  have  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  those  enemies  of  learning,  who  had  de- 
stroyed the  volumes  with  which  they  had  been  heretofore 
filled.  They  were,  in  several  places,  dismantled  of  their 
shelves,  and  otherwise  broken  and  damaged,  and  were, 
moreover,  mantled  with  cobwebs,  and  covered  with  dust. 

"  The  men  who  wrote  these  books,"  said  Lambourne, 
looking  round  him,  "  little  thought  whose  keeping  they 
were  to  fall  into." 

"  Nor  what  yeoman's  service  they  were  to  do  me," 
quoth  Anthony  Foster — "  the  cook  hath  used  them  for 
scouring  his  pewter,  and  the  groom  hath  had  nought  else 
to  clean  my  boots  with  this  many  a  month  past." 

"  And  yet,"  said  Lambourne,  "  I  have  been  in  cities 
where  such  learned  commodities  would  have  been  deem- 
ed too  good  for  such  offices." 


to 


KBNIIWORTH. 


"  Pshaw,  pshaw,"  answered  Foster,  "  they  are  Popish 
trash,  every  one  of  them, — private  studies  of  the  mump- 
ing old  Abbot  of  Abingdon.  The  nineteenthly  of  a  pure 
gospel  sermon  were  worth  a  cart-load  of  such  rakings  of 
the  kennel  of  Rome." 

"  God-a-mercy,  Master  Tony  Fire-the-Faggot !"  said 
Lambourne,  by  way  of  reply. 

Foster  scowled  darkly  at  him,  as  he  replied,  "  Hark 
ye,  friend  Mike  ;  forget  that  name,  and  the  passage  which 
it  relates  to,  if  you  would  not  have  our  newly-revived 
comradeship  die  a  sudden  and  a  violent  death." 

"  Why,"  said  Michael  Lambourne,  "  you  were  wont  to 
glory  in  the  share  you  had  in  the  death  of  the  two  old 
heretical  bishops." 

"  That,"  said  his  comrade,  "  was  while  I  was  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  bond  of  iniquity  and  applies  not  to 
my  walk  or  my  ways,  now  that  I  am  called  forth  into  the 
lists.  Mr.  Melchisedec  Maultext  compared  my  misfortune 
in  that  matter  to  that  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  kept  the 
clothes  of  the  witnesses  who  stoned  Saint  Stephen.  He 
held  forth  on  the  matter  three  Sabbaths  past,  and  illus- 
trated the  same  by  the  conduct  of  an  honourable  person 
present,  meaning  me." 

"  I  prithee  peace,  Foster,"  said  Lambourne,  "  for  1 
know  not  how  it  is,  I  have  a  sort  of  creeping  comes  over 
my  skin  when  I  hear  the  devil  quote  Scripture  ;  and  be- 
sides, man,  how  couldst  thou  have  the  heart  to  quit  that 
convenient  old  religion,  which  you  could  slip  off  or  on  as 
easily  as  your  glove  ?  Do  I  not  remember  how  you  were 
wont  to  carry  your  conscience  to  confession,  as  duly  as 
the  month  came  round  ?  and  when  thou  hadst  had  it 
scoured,  and  burnished,  and  white-washed  by  the  priest, 
thou  wert  ever  ready  for  the  worst  villany  which  could 
be  devised,  like  a  child  who  is  always  readiest  to  rush  into 
the  mire  when  he  has  got  his  Sunday's  clean  jerkin  on." 

"  Trouble  not  thyself  about  my  conscience,,"  said  Fos- 
ter, "  it  is  a  thing  thou  canst  not  understand,  having  never 
had  one  of  thine  own  ;  but  let  us  rather  to  the  point,  and 


KE  NIL  WORTH- 


4i 


say  to  me,  in  one  word,  what  is  thy  business  with  me,  and 
what  hopes  have  drawn  thee  hither  ?" 

"  The  hope  of  bettering  myself,  to  be  sure,"  answered 
Lambourne,  "  as  the  old  woman  said  when  she  leapt  over 
the  bridge  at  Kingston.  Look  you,  this  purse  has  all  that 
is  left  of  as  round  a  sum  as  a  man  would  wish  to  carry 
in  his  slop-pouch.  You  are  here  well  established,  it  would 
seem,  and,  as  I  think,  well  befriended,  for  men  talk  of  thy 
being  under  some  special  protection  ;  thou  canst  not  dance 
in  a  net  and  they  not  see  thee.  Now  I  know  such  pro- 
tection is  not  purchased  for  nought  ;  you  must  have  ser- 
vices to  render  for  it,  and  in  these  I  propose  to  help  thee."' 

"  But  how  if  I  lack  no  assistance  from  thee,  Mike  ? 
I  think  thy  modesty  might  suppose  that*Were  a  case  pos- 
sible." 

"  That  is  to  say,"  retorted  Lambourae,  "  that  you 
would  engross  the  whole  work,  rather  than  divide  the  re- 
ward— but  be  not  over-greedy,  Anthony.  Covetousness 
bursts  the  sack  and  spills  the  grain.  Look  you,  when  the 
huntsman  goes  to  kill  a  stag,  he  takes  with  him  more  dogs 
than  one — He  has  the  staunch  lyme-hound  to  track  the 
wounded  buck  over  hill  and  dale,  but  he  hath  also  the  fleet 
gaze-hound  to  kill  him  at  view.  Thou  art  the  lyme- 
hound,  I  am  the  gaze-hound,  and  thy  patron  will  need  the 
aid  of  both,  and  can  well  afford  to  requite  it.  Thou  hast 
deep  sagaci  y — an  unrelenting  purpose — a  steady  long- 
breathed  malignity  of  nature,  that  surpasses  mine.  But 
then,  I  am  the  bolder,  the  quicker,  the  more  ready,  both 
at  action  and  expedient.  Separate,  our  properties  are 
not  so  perfect ;  but  unite  them,  and  we  drive  the  world 
before  us.    How  say'st  thou — shall  we  hunt  in  couples  ?" 

"  It  is  a  currish  proposal — thus  to  thrust  thyself  upon 
my  private  matters,"  replied  Foster  ;  "  but  thou  wert 
ever  an  ill-nurtured  whelp." 

"  You  shall  have  no  cause  to  say  so,  unless  you  spurn 
my  courtesy,"  said  Michael  Lambourne  ;  "  but  if  so, 
keep  thee  well  from  me,  sir  knight,  as  the  romance  has 
it.    I  will  either  share  your  counsels  or  traverse  them  ; 

4*     VOL.  I. 


42 


KENIL  WORTH. 


for  I  have  come  here  to  be  busy,  either  with  thee  or 
against  thee." 

U  Well,"  said  Anthony  Foster,  "  since  thou  dost  leave 
me  so  fair  a  choice,  I  will  rather  be  thy  friend  than  thine 
enemy.  Thou  art  right,  I  can  prefer  thee  to  the  service 
of  a  patron,  who  has  enough  of  means  to  make  us  both, 
and  an  hundred  more.  And,  to  say  truth,  thou  art  well 
qualified  for  his  service.  Boldness  and  dexterity  he  de- 
mands— the  justice-books  bear  witness  in  thy  favour — no 
starting  at  scruples  in  his  service — why,  who  ever  suspect- 
ed thee  of  a  conscience  ? — an  assurance  he  must  have, 
who  would  follow  a  courtier — and  thy  brow  is  as  impen- 
etrable as  a  Milan  visor.  There  is  but  one  thing  I  would 
fain  see  amendeS  in  thee." 

"  And  what  is  that,  my  most  precious  friend  Anthony  ?" 
replied  Lambfcurne  ;  "  for  I  swear  by  the  pillow  of  the 
Seven  Sleepers,  I  will  not  be  slothful  in  amending  it." 

"  Why  you  gave  a  sample  of  it  even  now,"  said  Fos- 
ter. "  Your  speech  twangs  too  much  of  the  old  stamp, 
and  you  garnish  it  ever  and  anon  with  singular  oaths,  that 
savour  of  Papistrie.  Besides  your  exterior  man  is  alto- 
gether too  deboshed  and  irregular  to  become  one  of  his 
Lordship's  followers,  since  he  has  a  reputation  to  keep  up 
in  the  eye  of  the  world.  You  must  somewhat  reform 
your  dress,  upon  a  more  grave  and  composed  fashion  ; 
wear  your  cloak  on  both  shoulders,  and  your  falling  band 
unrumpled  and  well  starched — You  must  enlarge  the  brim 
of  your  beaver »  and  diminish  the  superfluity  of  your 
trunk-hose — go  to  church,  or,  which  will  be  better,  to 
meeting,  at  least  once  a  month — protest  only  upon  your 
faith  and  conscience — lay  aside  your  swashing  look,  and 
never  touch  the  hilt  of  your  sword,  but  when  you  would 
draw  the  carnal  weapon  in  good  earnest." 

"  By  this  light,  Anthony,  thou  art  mad,"  answered 
Lambourne,  "  and  hast  described  rather  the  gentleman- 
usher  to  a  puritan's  wife,  than  the  follower  of  an  ambitious 
courtier  !  Yes,  such  a  thing  as  thou  would'st  make  of  me, 
should  wear  a  book  at  his  girdle  instead  of  a  poniard,  and 
might  just  be  suspected  of  manhood  enough  to  squire  a 


KENILWORTH. 


43 


proud  dame-citizen  to  the  lecture  at  Saint  Antonie's,  and 
quarrel  in  her  cause  with  any  flat-cap'd  thread-maker  that 
would  take  the  wall  of  her.  He  must  ruffle  it  in  another 
sort  that  would  walk  to  court  in  a  nobleman's  train." 

"  O,  content  you,  sir,"  replied  Foster,  "  there  is  a 
change  since  you  knew  the  English  world  ;  and  there  are 
those  who  can  hold  their  way  through  the  boldest  courses, 
and  the  most  secret,  and  yet  never  a  swaggering  word, 
or  an  oath,  or  a  profane  word,  in  their  conversation." 

"  That  is  to  say,"  replied  Lambourne,  "  they  are  in 
a  trading  copartnery,  to  do  the  devil's  business  without 
mentioning  his  name  in  the  firm  ? — Well,  I  will  do  my 
best  to  counterfeit,  rather  than  lose  ground  in  this  new 
world,  since  thou  sayest  it  is  so  precise.  But,  Anthony, 
what  is  the  name  of  this  nobleman,  in  whose  service  I 
am  to  turn  hypocrite  ?" 

"  Aha  !  Master  Michael,  are  you  there  with  your 
bears  ?"  said  Foster,  with  a  grim  smile  ;  "  and  is  this  the 
knowledge  you  pretend  of  my  concernments  ? — How 
know  you  now  there  is  such  a  person  in  rerum  natura, 
and  that  I  have  not  been  putting  a  jape  upon  you  all  this 
time  ?" 

"  Thou  put  a  jape  on  me,  thou  sodden-brained  gull !" 
answered  Lambourne,  nothing  daunted  ;  "  why,  dark 
and  muddy  as  thou  think'st  thyself,  I  would  engage  in  a 
day's  space  to  see  as  clear  through  thee  and  thy  concern- 
ments, as  thou  call'st^  them,  as  through  the  filthy  horn  of 
an  old  stable  lantern." 

At  this  moment  their  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
a  scream  from  the  next  apartment. 

"  By  the  holy  cross  of  Abingdon  !"  said  Anthony 
Foster,  forgetting  his  protestantism  in  his  alarm,  "  I  am 
a  ruined  man." 

So  saying,  he  rushed  into  the  apartment  whence  the 
sound  issued,  followed  by  Michael  Lambourne.  But  to 
account  for  the  sounds  which  interrupted  their  conversa- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  recede  a  little  way  in  our  narrative. 

It  has  been  already  observed,  that  when  Lambourne 
accompanied  Foster  into  the  library,  they  left  Tressilian 


44 


KEN  II  WORTH . 


alone  in  the  ancient  parlour.  His  dark  eye  followed  them 
forth  of  the  apartment  with  a  glance  of  contempt,  a  part 
of  which  his  mind  instantly  transferred  to  himself,  for 
having  stooped  to  be  even  for  a  moment  their  familiar 
companion.  "  These  are  the  associates,  Amy," — it  was 
thus  he  communed  with  himself, — "  to  which  thy  cruel 
levity — thine  unthinking  and  most  unmerited  falsehood, 
has  condemned  him,  of  whom  his  friends  once  hoped  far 
other  things,  and  who  now  scorns  himself  as  he  will  be 
scorned  by  others,  for  the  baseness  he  stoops  to  for  the 
love  of  thee  !  But  I  will  not  leave  the  pursuit  of  thee, 
once  the  object  of  my  purest  and  most  devoted  affection, 
though  to  me  thou  canst  henceforth  be  nothing  but  a 
thing  to  weep  over — I  will  save  thee  from  thy  betrayer, 
and  from  thyself — I  will  restore  thee  to  thy  parents — to 
thy  God.  I  cannot  bid  the  bright  star  again  sparkle  in 
the  sphere  it  has  shot  from,  but"  

A  slight  noise  in  the  apartment  interrupted  his  reverie  ; 
he  looked  around,  and  in  the  beautiful  and  richly-attired 
female  who  entered  at  that  instant  by  a  side-door,  he  re- 
cognized the  object  of  his  search.  The  first  impulse 
arising  from  this  discovery,  urged  him  to  conceal  his  own 
face  with  the  collar  of  his  cloak,  until  he  should  find  a 
favourable  moment  of  making  himself  known.  But  his 
purpose  was  disconcerted  by  the  young  lady,  (she  was 
not  above  eighteen  years  old)  who  ran  joyfully  towards 
him,  and,  pulling  him  by  the  cloak,  said  playfully,  "  Nay, 
my  sweet  friend,  after  I  have  waited  for  you  so  long,  you 
come  not  to  my  bower  to  play  the  masquer — You  are 
arraigned  of  treason  to  true  love  and  fond  affection  ;  and 
you  must  stand  up  at  the  bar,  and  answer  it  with  face 
uncovered — how  say  you,  guilty  or  not  ?" 

"  Alas,  Amy !"  said  Tressilian,  in  a  low  and  melan- 
choly tone,  as  he  suffered  her  to  draw  the  mantle  from 
his  face.  The  sound  of  his  voice,  and  still  more  the  un- 
expected sight  of  his  face,  changed  in  an  instant  the  lady's 
playful  mood — she  staggered  back,  turned  as  pale  as 
death,  and  put  her  hands  before  her  face.  Tressilian 
was  himself  for  a  moment  much  overcome,  but  seeming 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


45 


suddenly  to  remember  the  necessity  of  using  an  op- 
portunity which  might  not  again  occur,  he  said  in  a  low 
tone,  "  Amy,  fear  me  not." 

"  Why  should  I  fear  you  ?"  said  the  lady,  withdrawing 
her  hands  from  her  beautiful  face,  which  was  now  cover- 
ed with  crimson, — "  why  should  I  fear  you,  Mr.  Tres- 
silian  ?— or  wherefore  have  you  intruded  yourself  into  my 
dwelling,  uninvited,  sir,  and  unwished  for  ?" 

"  Your  dwelling,  Amy!"  said  Tressilian.  "  Alas!  is 
a  prison  your  dwelling  ? — a  prison,  guarded  by  one  of 
the  most  sordid  of  men,  but  not  a  greater  wretch  than 
his  employer." 

"  This  house  is  mine,"  said  Amy,  "  mine  while  I 
choose  to  inhabit  it — If  it  is  my  pleasure  to  live  in  seclu- 
sion, who  shall  gainsay  me  ?" 

"  Your  father,  maiden,"  answered  Tressilian,  "  your 
broken-hearted  father  ;  who  despatched  me  in  quest  of 
you  with  that  authority  which  he  cannot  exert  in  person. 
Here  is  his  letter,  written  while  he  blessed  his  pain  of 
body  which  somewhat  stunned  the  agony  of  his  mind." 

"  The  pain  ! — is  my  father  then  ill  ?"  said  the  lady. 

"  So  ill,"  answered  Tressilian,  "  that  even  your 
utmost  haste  may  not  restore  him  to  health ;  but  all  shall 
be  instantly  prepared  for  your  departure,  the  instant  you 
yourself  will  give  consent." 

"  Tressilian,"  answered  the  lady,  "  I  cannot,  I  must 
not,  I  dare  not  leave  this  place.  Go  back  to  my  father — 
tell  him  I  will  obtain  leave  to  see  him  within  twelve  hours 
from  hence.  Go  back,  Tressilian — tell  him  I  am  well,  I 
am  happy — happy  could  I  think  he  was  so — tell  him  not 
to  fear  that  I  will  come,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  all  the 
grief  Amy  has  given  him  shall  be  forgotten — the  poor 
Amy  is  now  greater  than  she  dare  name. — Go,  good 
Tressilian— I  have  injured  thee  too,  but  believe  me  I 
have  power  to  heal  the  wounds  I  have  caused — I  robbed 
you  of  a  childish  heart,  wThich  was  not  worthy  of  you, 
and  I  can  repay  the  loss  with  honours  and  advancement." 

"  Do  you  say  this  to  me,  Amy  ? — Do  you  offer  me  pa- 
geants of  idle  ambition,  for  the  quiet  peace  you  have 


46 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


robbed  me  of? — But  be  it  so — I  came  not  to 'upbraid, 
but  to  serve  and  to  free  you. — You  cannot  disguise  it 
from  me  ;  you  are  a  prisoner.  Otherwise  your  kind 
heart — for  it  was  once  a  kind  heart — would  have  been 
already  at  your  father's  bed-side.— Come,  poor,  deceiv- 
ed, unhappy  maiden — all  shall  be  forgot — all  shall  be 
forgiven.  Fear  not  my  importunity  for  what  regarded 
our  contract — it  was  a  dream,  and  I  have  awaked — But 
come— your  father  yet  lives — Come,  and  one  word  of 
affection — one  tear  of  penitence,  will  efface  the  memory 
of  all  that  has  passed." 

"  Have  I  not  already  said,  Tressilian,"  replied  she, 
"  that  I  will  surely  come  to  my  father,  and  that  without 
farther  delay  than  is  necessary  to  discharge  other  and 
equally  binding  duties  ? — Go,  carry  him  the  news — I  come 
as  sure  as  there  is  light  in  Heaven — that  is,  when  I  ob- 
tain permission." 

"  Permission  ? — permission  to  visit  your  father  on  his 
sick-bed,  perhaps  on  his  death-bed  !"  repeated  Tressil- 
ian, impatiently  ;  "  and  permission  from  whom  ? — From 
the  villain,  who,  under  disguise  of  friendship,  abused 
every  duty  of  hospitality,  and  stole  thee  from  thy  father's 
roof !" 

"  Do  him  no  slander,  Tressilian  ! — He  whom  thou 
speakest  of  wears  a  sword  as  sharp  as  thine — sharper, 
vain  man — for  the  best  deeds  thou  hast  ever  done  in  peace 
or  war,  were  as  unworthy  to  be  named  with  his,  as  thy 
obscure  rank  to  match  itself  with  the  sphere  he  moves  in. 
— Leave  me  !  Go,  do  mine  errand  to  my  father,  and 
when  he  next  sends  to  me  let  him  choose  a  more  welcome 
messenger." 

"  Amy,"  replied  Tressilian,  calmly,  "  thou  canst  not 
move  me  by  thy  reproaches. — Tell  me  one  thing,  that  I 
may  bear  at  least  one  ray  of  comfort  to  my  aged  friend 
- — This  rank  of  his  which  thou  dost  boast — dost  thou 
share  it  with  him,  Amy  ? — Does  he  claim  a  husband's 
right  to  control  thy  motions  ?" 


KE  NIL  WORTH . 


47 


"  Stop  thy  base  unmannered  tongue  !"  said  the  lady  ; 
"  to  no  question  that  derogates  from  my  honour,  do  I 
deign  an  answer." 

"  You  have  said  enough  in  refusing  to  reply,"  answer- 
ed Tressilian  ;  "  and  mark  me,  unhappy  as  thou  art,  I 
am  armed  with  thy  father's  full  authority  to  command  thy 
obedience,  and  I  will  save  thee  from  the  slavery  of  sin 
and  of  sorrow,  even  despite  of  thyself,  Amy." 

"  Menace  no  violence  here  !"  exclaimed  the  lady, 
drawing  back  from  him,  and  alarmed  at  the  determina- 
tion expressed  in  his  look  and  manner ;  "  threaten  me 
not,  Tressilian,  for  I  have  means  to  repel  force." 

"  But  not,  I  trust,  the  wish  to  use  them  in  so  evil  a 
cause,"  said  Tressilian.  "  With  thy  will — tiiine  uninflu- 
enced, free,  and  natural  will,  Amy,  thou  canst  not  choose 
this  state  of  slavery  and  dishonour — thou  hast  been  bound 
by  some  spell — entrapped  by  some  art — art  now  detained 
by  some  compelled  vow.  But  thus  I  break  the  charm — 
Amy,  in  the  name  of  thine  excellent,  thy  broken-hearted 
father,  I  command  thee  to  follow  me." 

As  he  spoke,  he  advanced  and  extended  his  arm,  as 
with  the  purpose  of  laying  hold  upon  her.  But  she 
shrunk  back  from  his  grasp,  and  uttered  the  scream, 
which,  as  we  before  noticed,  brought  intp  the  apartment 
Lambourne  and  Foster. 

The  latter  exclaimed,  so  soon  as  he  entered,  "  Fire 
and  faggot  !  what  have  we  here  !"  Then  addressing  the 
lady  in  a  tone  betwixt  entreaty  and  command,  he  added, 
"  Uds  precious  !  Madam,  what  make  you  here  out  of 
bounds  ? — Retire- — retire — there  is  life  and  death  in  this 
matter.  And  you,  friend,  whoever  you  may  be,  leave 
this  house — out  with  you,  before  my  dagger's  hilt  and 
your  costard  become  acquainted — Draw,  Mike,  and  rid 
us  of  the  knave." 

m  "  Not  I,  on  my  soul,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  66  he  came 
hither  in  my  company,  and  he  is  safe  from  me  by  cutter's 
law,  at  least  till  we  meet  again.  But  hark  ye,  my  Cor- 
nish comrade,  you  have  brought  a  Cornish  flaw  with  you 
hither,  a  hurricanoe,  as  they  call  it  in  the  Indies.  Make 


48 


KEXILWORTH. 


yourself  scarce — depart — vanish — or  we'll  have  you  sum- 
moned before  the  Mayor  of  Halgaver,  and  that  before 
Dudman  and  Ramhead  meet."* 

"  Away,  base  groom  !"  said  Tressilian — "  And  you, 
madam,  fare  you  well — what  life  is  left  in  your  father's 
bosom  will  depart,  at  the  news  I  have  to  tell  him." 

He  departed,  the  lady  saying  faintly  as  he  left  the 
room,  "  Tressilian,  be  not  rash— say  no  scandal  of  me." 

"  Here  is  proper  gear,"  said  Foster.  "  I  pray  you  go 
to  your  chamber,  my  lady,  and  let  us  consider  how  this 
is  to  be  answered — nay,  tarry  not." 

"  I  move  not  at  your  command,  sir,"  answered  the  lady. 

"  Nay,  but  you  must,  fair  lady,"  replied  Foster  ; 
"  excuse  my  freedom,  but,  by  blood  and  nails,  this  is  no 
time  to  strain  courtesies — you  must  go  to  your  chamber. 
Mike,  follow  that  meddling  coxcomb,  and  as  you  desire 
to  thrive,  see  him  safely  clear  of  the  premises,  while  I 
bring  this  headstrong  lady  to  reason — Draw  thy  tool, 
man,  and  after  him." 

"  I'll  follow  him,"  said  Michael  Lambourne,  "  and 
see  him  fairly  out  of  Flanders — But  for  hurting  a  man  1 
have  drunk  my  morning's  draught  withal,  'tis  clean  against 
my  conscience."    So  saying,  he  left  the  apartment. 

Tressilian,  meanwhile,  with  hasty  steps,  pursued  the 
first  path  which  promised  to  conduct  him  through  the 
wild  and  over  grown  park  in  which  the  mansion  of  Fos- 
ter was  situated.  Haste  and  distress  of  mind  led  his 
steps  astray,  and  instead  of  taking  the  avenue  which  led 
towards  the  village,  he  chose  another,  which,  after  he  had 
pursued  it  for  some  time  with  a  hasty  and  reckless  step, 
conducted  him  to  the  other  side  of  the  demesne,  where 
a  postern-door  opened  through  the  wall,  and  led  into  the 
open  country. 

Tressilian  paused  an  instant.  It  was  indifferent  to  him 
by  what  road  he  left  a  spot  now  so  odious  to  his  recollec- 
tions ;  but  it  was  probable  that  the  postern-door  was 
locked,  and  his  retreat  by  that  pass  rendered  impossible. 


*  Two  headlands  on  the  Cornish  coast. 


KEN  IL  WORTH* 


49 


«  I  must  make  the  attempt,  however,"  he  said  to  him- 
self ;  "  the  only  means  of  reclaiming  this  lost — this  mis- 
erable— this  still  most  lovely  and  most  unhappy  girl- 
must  rest  in  her  father's  appeal  to  the  broken  laws  of  his 
country — I  must  haste  to  apprize  him  of  this  heart-break- 
ing intelligence." 

As  Tressilian,  thus  conversing  with  himself,  approach- 
ed to  try  some  means  of  opening  the  door,  or  climbing 
over  it,  he  perceived  there  was  a  key  put  into  the  lock 
from  the  outside.  It  turned  round,  the  bolt  revolved, 
and  a  cavalier,  who  entered,  muffled  in  his  riding-cloak, 
and  wearing  a  slouched  hat  with  a  drooping  feather,  stood 
at  once  within  four  yards  of  him  who  was  desirous  of  going 
out.  They  exclaimed  at  once,  in  tones  of  resentment 
and  surprise,  the  one  "  Varney  !"  the  other  "  Tressil- 
ian S" 

"  What  make  you  here  ?"  was  the  stern  question  put 
by  the  stranger  to  Tressilian,  when  the  moment  of  sur- 
prise was  past, — "  What  make  you  here,  where  your 
presence  is  neither  expected  nor  desired  ?" 

"  Nay,  Varney,"  replied  Tressilian,  "  what  make  you 
here  ?  Are  you  come  to  triumph  over  the  innocence  you 
have  destroyed,  as  the  vulture  or  carrion-crow  comes  to 
batten  on  the  lamb,  whose  eyes  it  has  first  plucked  out  ? 
— Or  are  you  come  to  encounter  the  merited  vengeance 
of  an  honest  man  ? — Draw,  dog,  and  defend  thyself." 

Tressilian  drew  his  sword  as  he  spoke,  but  Varney  only 
laid  his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his  own,  as  he 'replied, 
"  Thou  art  mad,  Tressilian — I  own  appearances  are 
against  me,  but  by  every  oath  a  priest  can  make,  or  a  man 
can  swear,  Mistress  Amy  Robsart  hath  had  no  injury 
from  me,  and  in  truth  I  were  somewhat  loath  to  hurt  you 
in  this  cause — Thou  know'st  I  can  fight." 

"  I  have  heard  thee  say  so,  Varney,"  replied  Tressil- 
ian ;  "  but  now,  methinks,  I  would  fain  have  some  better 
evidence  than  thine  own  word." 

"  That  shall  not  be  lacking,  if  blade  and  hilt  be  but 
true  to  me,"  answered  Varney  ;  and  drawing  his  sword 

5     VOL.  I. 


50 


KENILWORTH. 


with  the  right  hand,  he  threw  his  cloak  around  his  left, 
and  attacked  Tressilian  with  a  vigour  which,  for  a  mo- 
ment, seemed  to  give  him  the  advantage  of  the  combat. 
But  this  advantage  lasted  not  long.  Tressilian  added  to 
a  spirit  determined  on  revenge,  a  hand  and  eye  admirably 
well  adapted  to  the  use  of  the  rapier  ;  so  that  Varney, 
finding  himself  hard  pressed  in  his  turn,  endeavoured  to 
avail  himself  of  his  superior  strength,  by  closing  with  his. 
adversary.  For  this  purpose,  he  hazarded  the  receiving 
one  of  Tressilian's  passes  in  his  cloak,  wrapt  as  it  was 
around  his  arm,  and  ere  his  adversary  could  extricate  his 
rapier  thus  entangled,  he  closed  with  him,  shortening  his 
own  sword  at  the  same  time,  with  the  purpose  of  de- 
spatching him.  But  Tressilian  was  on  his  guard,  and 
unsheathing  his  poniard,  parried  with  the  blade  of  that 
weapon  the  home-thrust  which  would  otherwise  have  fin- 
ished the  combat,  and  in  the  struggle  which  followed, 
displayed  so  much  address,  as  might  have  confirmed  the 
opinion  that  he  drew  his  origin  from  Cornwall,  whose 
natives  are  such  masters  in  the  art  of  wrestling,  as,  were 
the  games  of  antiquity  revived,  might  enable  them  to 
challenge  all  Europe  to  the  ring.  Varnqy,  in  his  ill-ad- 
vised attempt,  received  a  fall  so  sudden  and  violent,  that 
his  sword  flew  several  paces  from  his  hand,  and  ere  he 
could  recover  his  feet,  that  of  his  antagonist  was  pointed 
to  his  throat.. 

"  Give  me  the  instant  means  of  relieving  the  victim  of 
thy  treachery,"  said  Tressilian,  "  or  take  the  last  look  of 
your  Creator's  blessed  sun." 

And  while  Varney,  too  confused  or  too  sullen  to  reply, 
made  a  sudden  effort  to  arise,  his  adversary  drew  back 
his  arm,  and  would  have  executed  his  threat,  but  that  the 
blow  was  arrested  by  the  grasp  of  Michael  Lambourne, 
who,  directed  by  the  clashing  of  swords,  had  come  up 
just  in  time  to  save  the  life  of  Varney. 

"  Come,  come,  comrade,"  said  Lambourne,  "  here  is 
enough  done,  and  more  than  enough — put  up  your  fox, 
and  let  us  be  jogging — The  Black  Bear  growls  for  us." 


KENIIiWORTIf . 


51 


"  Off,  abject !"  said  Tressilian,  striking  himself  free 
of  Lambourne's  grasp ;  "  darest  thou  come  betwixt  me 
and  mine  enemy  ?" 

"  Abject  !  abject  !"  repeated  Lambourne  ;  t6  that 
shall  be  answered  with  cold  steel  whenever  a  bowl  of 
sack  has  washed  out  memory  of  the  morning's  draught 
that  we  had  together.  In  the  meanwhile,  do  you  see, 
shog — tramp — begone — we  are  two  to  one." 

He  spoke  truth,  for  Varney  had  taken  the  opportunity 
to  regain  his  weapon,  and  Tressilian  perceived  it  was 
madness  to  press  the  quarrel  farther  against  such  odds. 
He  took  his  purse  from  his  side,  and  taking  out  two  gold 
nobles,  flung  them  to  Lambourne  ;  "  There,  caitiff,  is 
thy  morning  wage — thou  shalt  not  say  thou  hast  been  my 
guide  unhired.  Varney,  farewell — we  shall  meet  where 
there  are  none  to  come  betwixt  us."  So  saying,  he 
turned  round  and  departed  through  the  postern-door. 

Varney  seemed  to  want  the  inclination,  or  perhaps  the 
power  (for  his  fall  had  been  a  severe  one)  to  follow  his 
retreating  enemy.  But  he  glared  darkly  as  he  disap- 
peared, and  then  addressed  Lambourne  ;  "  Art  thou  a 
comrade  of  Foster's,  good  fellow  ?" 

"  Sworn  friends,  as  the  haft  is  to  the  knife,"  replied 
Michael  Lambourne. 

"  Here  is  a  broad  piece  for  thee — follow  yonder  fel- 
low, and  see  where  he  takes  earth,  and  bring  me  word 
up  to  the  mansion-house  here.  Cautious  and  silent,  thou 
knave,  as  thou  valuest  thy  throat." 

"  Enough  said,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  I  can  draw  on 
a  scent  as  well  as  a  sleuth-hound." 

"  Begone  then,"  said  Varney,  sheathing  his  rapier  ; 
and,  turning  his  back  on  Michael  Lambourne,  he  walked 
slowly  towards  the  house.  Lambourne  stopped  but  an 
instant  to  gather  the  nobles  which  his  late  companion  had 
flung  towards  him  so  unceremoniously,  and  muttered  to 
himself,  while  he  put  them  up  in  his  purse,  along  with  the 
gratuity  of  Varney  ;  "  I  spoke  to  yonder  gulls  of  Eldo- 
rado— By  Saint  Anthony,  there  is  no  Eldorado  for  men 
of  our  stamp  equal  to  bonny  old  England.    It  rains  no- 


52 


KENILWORTH. 


bles,  by  heaven— they  lie  on  the  grass  as  thick  as  dew- 
drops — you  may  have  them  for  gathering.  And  if  I  have 
not  my  share  of  such  glittering  dew-drops,  may  my 
sword  melt  like  an  icicle  !" 


CHAPTER  V. 

 He  was  a  man 

Versed  in  the  world  as  pilot  in  his  compass. 
The  needle  pointed  ever  to  that  interest 
Which  was  his  load-star,  and  he  spread  his  sails 
With  vantage  to  the  gale  of  others'  passion. 

The  Deceiver — a  Tragedy. 

Anthony  Foster  was  still  engaged  in  debate  with 
his  fair  guest,  who  treated  with  scorn  every  entreaty  and 
request  that  she  would  retire  to  her  own  apartment,  when 
a  whistle  was  heard  at  the  entrance-door  of  the  mansion. 

"  We  are  fairly  sped  now,"  said  Foster ;  "  yonder  is 
thy  lord's  signal,  and  what  to  say  about  the  disorder 
which  has  happened  in  this  household,  by  my  conscience, 
I  know  not.  Some  evil  fortune  dogs  the  heels  of  that 
unhanged  rogue  Lambourne,  and  he  has  scaped  the  gal- 
lows against  every  chance,  to  come  back  and  be  the  ruin 
of  me  !" 

"  Peace,  sir,"  said  the  lady,  "  and  undo  the  gate  to 
your  master. — -My  lord  !  my  dear  lord  !"  she  then  ex- 
claimed, hastening  to  the  entrance  of  the  apartment,  then 
added,  with  a  voice  expressive  of  disappointment, — 
"  Pooh  !  it  is  but  Richard  Varney." 

"  Ay,  madam,"  said  Varney,  entering  and  saluting  the 
lady  with  a  respectful  obeisance,  which  she  returned  with 
a  careless  mixture  of  negligence  and  of  displeasure,  "  it 
is  but  Richard  Varney  ;  but  even  the  first  grey  cloud 
should  be  acceptable  when  it  lightens  in  the  east,  because 
it  announces  the  approach  bf  the  blessed  sun," 


KENILWORTH. 


53 


u  How  !  comes  my  lord  hither  to-night  ?"  said  the 
lady,  in  joyful,  yet  startled  agitation,  and  Anthony  Fos- 
ter caught  up  the  word,  and  echoed  the  question.  Var- 
ney  replied  to  the  lady,  that  his  lord  purposed  to  attend 
her,  and  would  have  proceeded  with  some  compliment, 
when,  running  to  the  door  of  the  parlour,  she  called 
aloud,  "  Janet — Janet — come  to  my  tiring-room  instant- 
ly." Then  returning  to  Varney,  she  asked  if  her  lord 
sent  any  farther  commendations  to  her. 

"  This  letter,  honoured  madam,"  said  he,  taking  from 
his  bosom  a  small  parcel  wrapt  in  scarlet  silk,  and  with 
it  a  token  to  the  Queen  of  his  Affections.  With  eager 
speed  the  lady  hastened  to  undo  the  silken  string  which 
surrounded  the  little  packet,  and  failing  to  unloose  readily 
the  knot  with  which  it  was  secured,  she  again  called 
loudly  on  Janet,  "  Bring  me  a  knife — scissars — aught 
that  may  undo  this  envious  knot." 

"  May  not  my  poor  poniard  serve,  honoured  madam," 
said  Varney,  presenting  a  small  dagger  of  exquisite  work- 
manship, which  hung  in  his  Turkey-leather  sword-belt. 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  the  lady,  rejecting  the  instrument 
which  he  offered — "  Steel  poniard  shall  cut  no  true-love 
knot  of  mine." 

"  It  has  cut  many,  however,"  said  Anthony  Foster, 
half  aside,  and  looking  at  Varney.  By  this  time  the 
knot  was  disentangled  without  any  other  help  than  the 
neat  and  nimble  fingers  of  Janet,  a  simply-attired  pretty 
maiden,  the  daughter  of  Anthony  Foster,  who  came  run- 
ning at  the  repeated  call  of  her  mistress.  A  necklace  of 
orient  pearl,  the  companion  of  a  perfumed  billet,  was 
now  hastily  produced  from  the  packet.  The  lady  gave 
the  one  after  a  slight  glance  to  the  charge  of  her  attend- 
ant, wThile  she  read  or  rather  devoured,  the  contents  of 
the  other. 

"  Surely,  lady,"  said  Janet,  gazing  with  admiration  at 
the  neck-string  of  pearls,  "  the  daughters  of  Tyre  wore 
no  fairer  neck  jewels  than  those — And  then  the  posey, 
5*     VOL.  I. 


54 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


1  For  a  neck  that  is  fairer' — each  pearl  is  worth  a  free- 
hold." 

"  Each  word  in  this  dear  paper  is  worth  the  whole 
string,  my  girl — but  come  to  my  tiring-room,  girl  5  we 
must  be  brave,  my  lord  comes  hither  to-night. — He  bids 
me  grace  you,  Master  Varney,  and  to  me  his  wish  is  a 
law — I  bid  you  to  a  collation  in  my  bower  this  afternoon, 
and  you  too,  Master  Foster.  Give  orders  that  all  is  fit- 
ting and  that  suitable  preparations  be  made  for  my  lord's 
reception  to-night." — With  these  words  she  left  the  apart- 
ment. 

"  She  takes  state  on  her  already,"  said  Varney, 
"  and  distributes  the  favour  of  her  presence,  as  if  she 
were  already  the  partner  of  his  dignity. — Well — it  is 
wise  to  practise  beforehand,  the  part  which  fortune  pre- 
pares us  to  play — the  young  eagle  must  gaze  at  the  sun, 
ere  he  soars  on  strong  wing  to  meet  it." 

"  If  holding  her  head  aloft,"  said  Foster,  "  will  keep 
her  eyes  from  dazzling,  I  warrant  you  the  dame  will  not 
stoop  her  crest.  She  will  presently  soar  beyond  reach 
of  my  whistle,  Master  Varney.  I  promise  you,  she  holds 
me  already  in  slight  regard." 

"  It  is  thine  own  fault,  thou  sullen  uninventive  compan- 
ion," answered  Varney,  "  who  know'st  no  mode  of  con- 
trol, save  downright  brute  force. — Canst  thou  not  make 
home  pleasant  to  her,  with  music  and  toys  ?  Canst  thou 
not  make  the  out-of-doors  frightful  to  her,  with  tales  of 
goblins  ? — Thou  livest  here  by  the  church-yard,  and  hast 
not  even  wit  enough  to  raise  a  ghost,  to  scare  thy  females 
into  good  discipline." 

"  Speak  not  thus,  Master  Varney,"  said  Foster  ;  "the 
living  I  fear  not,  but  I  trifle  not  nor  toy  with  my  dead 
neighbours  of  the  church-yard.  I  promise  you,  it  re- 
quires a  good  heart  to  live  so  near  it  ;  worthy  Master 
Holdforth,  the  afternoon's  lecturer  of  Saint  Antholine's, 
had  a  sore  fright  there  the  last  time  he  came  to  visit  me." 

"  Hold  thy  superstitious  tongue  !"  answered  Varney  ; 
"  and  while  thou  talk'st  of  visiting,  answer  me,  thou  pal- 


KENILWORTH. 


55 


tering  knave,  how  came  Tressilian  to  be  at  the  postern- 
door?" 

"  Tressilian  !"  answered  Foster,  "  what  know  I  of 
Tressilian  ? — I  never  heard  his  name." 

"  Why,  villain,  it  was  the  very  Cornish  chough,  to 
whom  old  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  destined  his  pretty  Amy, 
and  hither  the  hot-brained  fool  has  come  to  look  after  his 
fair  run-away  ;  there  must  be  some  order  taken  with  him, 
for  he  thinks  he  hath  wrong,  and  is  not  the  mean  hind 
thct  will  sit  down  with  it.  Luckily  he  knows  nought  of 
my  lord,  but  thinks  he  has  only  me  to  deal  with.  But 
how,  in  the  fiend's  name,  came  he  hither  ?" 

"  Why,  with  Mike  Lambourne,  an  you  must  know," 
answered  Foster. 

"  And  who  is  Mike  Lambourne  ?"  demanded  Varney. 
4 4  By  Heaven  !  thou  wert  best  set  up  a  bush  over  thy 
door,  and  invite  every  stroller  who  passes  by,  to  see  what 
thou  shouldst  keep  secret  even  from  the  sun  and  air." 

"  Ay  !  ay  !  this  is  a  court-like  requital  of  my  service  to 
you,  Master  Richard  Varney,"  replied  Foster.  "  Did'st 
thou  not  charge  me  to  seek  out  for  thee  a  fellow  who  had 
a  good  sword,  and  an  unscrupulous  conscience  ?  and  was 
I  not  busying  myself  to  find  a  fit  man — for,  thank  Heav- 
en, my  acquaintance  lies  not  amongst  such  companions — 
when,  as  Heaven  would  have  it,  this  tall  fellow,  who  is  in 
all  his  qualities  the  very  flashing  knave  thou  didst  wish, 
came  hither  to  fix  acquaintance  upon  me  in  the  plenitude 
of  his  impudence,  and  I  admitted  his  claim,  thinking  to  do 
you  a  pleasure — and  now  see  what  thanks  I  get  for  dis- 
gracing myself  by  converse  with  him  !" 

"  And  did  he,"  said  Varney,  "  being  such  a  fellow  as 
thyself,  only  lacking,  I  suppose,  thy  present  humour  of 
hypocrisy,  which  lies  as  thin  over  thy  hard  ruffianly  heart, 
as  gold  lacquer  upon  rusty  iron — did  he,  I  say,  bring  the 
saintly,  sighing  Tressilian  in  his  train  ?" 

"  They  came  together,  by  Heaven !"  said  Foster  ; 
"  and  Tressilian — to  speak  Heaven's  truth — obtained  a 
moment's  interview  with  our  pretty  moppet,  while  I  was 
talking  apart  with  Lambourne." 


56 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  Improvident  villain  !   we  are  both  undone,"  said 

Varney.  "  She  has  of  late  been  casting  many  a  back- 
ward-look  to  her  father's  halls,  whenever  her  lordly  lover 
leaves  her  alone.  Should  this  preaching  fool  whistle  her 
back  to  her  old  perch,  we  were  but  lost  men." 

"  No  fear  of  that,  my  master,"  replied  Anthony  Fos- 
ter ;  "  she  is  in  no  mood  to  stoop  to  his  lure,  for  she 
yelled  out  on  seeing  him  as  if  an  adder  had  stung  her." 

"  That  is  good. — Can'st  thou  not  get  from  thy  daugh- 
ter an  inkling  of  what  passed  between  them,  good  Fos- 
ter ?" 

"  I  tell  you  plain,  Master  Varney,"  said  Foster,  "  my 
daughter  shall  not  enter  our  purposes,  or  walk  in  our 
paths.  They  may  suit  me  well  enough,  who  know  how 
to  repent  of  my  misdoings  ;  but  I  will  not  have  my 
child's  soul  committed  to  peril  either  for  your  pleasure  or 
my  lord's.  I  may  walk  among  snares,  and  pitfalls  myself, 
because  I  have  discretion,  but  I  will  not  trust  the  poor 
child  among  them." 

"  Why,  thou  suspicious  fool,  I  were  as  averse  as  thou 
art  that  thy  baby-faced  girl  should  enter  into  my  plans, 
or  walk  to  hell  at  her  father's  elbow.  But  indirectly  thou 
might'st  gain  some  intelligence  of  her  ?" 

"  And  so  I  did,  Master  Varney,"  answered  Foster  ; 
"  and  she  said  her  lady  called  out  upon  the  sickness  of 
her  father." 

"  Good  !"  replied  Varney  ;  "  that  is  a  hint  worth 
catching,  and  I  will  work  upon  it.  But  the  country  must 
be  rid  of  this  Tressilian — I  would  have  cumbered  no 
man  about  the  matter,  for  I  hate  him  like  strong  poison — 
his  presence  is  hemlock  to  me — and  this  day  I  had  been 
rid  of  him,  but  that  my  foot  slipped,  when,  to  speak  truth, 
had  not  thy  comrade  yonder  come  to  my  aid,  and  held 
his  hand,  I  should  have  known  by  this  time  whether  you 
and  I  have  been  treading  the  path  to  heaven  or  hell." 

"  And  you  can  speak  thus  of  such  a  risk  !"  said  Fos- 
ter ;  "  you  keep  a  stout  heart,  Master  Varney — for  me, 
if  I  did  not  hope  to  live  many  years,  and  to  have  time  for 


KE  NIL  WORTH . 


67 


the  great  work  of  repentance,  I  would  not  go  forward 
with  you." 

"  O  !  thou  shalt  live  as  long  as  Methuselah,"  said 
Varney,  "  and  amass  as  much  wealth  as  Solomon  ;  and 
thou  shalt  repent  so  devoutly,  that  thy  repentance  shall 
be  more  famous  than  thy  villany, — and  that  is  a  bold 
word.  But  for  all  this,  Tressilian  must  be  looked  after. 
Thy  ruffian  yonder  is  gone  to  dog  him.  It  concerns  our 
fortunes,  Anthony." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Foster,  sullenly,  "  this  it  is  to  be 
leagued  with  one  who  knows  not  even  so  much  of  Scrip- 
ture, as  that  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire.  I  must, 
as  usual,  take  all  the  trouble  and  risk." 

"  Risk  !  and  what  is  the  mighty  risk  I  pray  you  ?  This 
fellow  will  come  prowling  again  about  your  demesne  or 
into  your  house,  and  if  you  take  him  for  a  house-breaker, 
or  a  park-breaker,  is  it  not  most  natural  you  should  wel- 
come him  with  cold  steel  or  hot  lead  ?  Even  a  mastiff 
will  pull  down  those  who  come  near  his  kennel ;  and  who 
shall  blame  him  ?" 

"  Ay,  I  have  a  mastiff's  work  and  a  mastiff's  wage 
among  you,"  said  Foster.  "  Here  have  you,  Master 
Varney,  secured  a  good  freehold  estate  out  of  this  old 
superstitious  foundation  ;  andlhave  but  a  poor  lease  of  this 
mansion  under  you,  voidable  at  your  honour's  pleasure." 

"  Ay,  and  thou  would'st  fain  convert  thy  leasehold  into 
a  copyhold — the  thing  may  chance  to  happen,  Anthony 
Foster,  if  thou  doest  good  service  for  it. — But  softly, 
good  Anthony — it  is  not  the  lending  a  room  or  two  of  this 
old  house  for  keeping  my  lord's  pretty  paroquet — nay,  it  is 
not  the  shutting  thy  doors  and  windows  to  keep  her  from 
flying  off,  that  may  deserve  it.  Remember  the  manor 
and  tithes  are  rated  at  the  clear  annual  value  of  seventy- 
nine  pounds  five  shillings  and  five-pence  halfpenny,  be- 
sides the  value  of  the  wood.  Come,  come,  thou  must 
be  conscionable  ;  great  and  secret  service  may  deserve 
both  this  and  a  better  thing. — And  now  let  thy  knave 
come  and  pluck  off  my  boots. — Get  us  some  dinner,  and 


58 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


a  cup  of  thy  best  wine. — I  must  visit  this  mavis,  brave  in 
apparel,  unruffled  in  aspect,  and  gay  in  temper." 

They  parted,  and  at  the  hour  of  noon,  which  was  then 
that  of  dinner,  they  again  met  at  their  meal,  Varney  gaily 
dressed  like  a  courtier  of  the  time,  and  even  Anthony 
Foster  improved  in  appearance,  as  far  as  dress  could 
amend  an  exterior  so  unfavourable. 

This  alteration  did  not  escape  Varney  When  the 
meal  was  finished,  the  cloth  removed,  and  they  were  left 
to  their  private  discourse — "  Thou  art  gay  as  a  goldfinch, 
Anthony,"  said  Varney,  looking  at  his  host  ;  "  methinks, 
thou  wilt  whistle  a  jig  anon — but  I  crave  your  pardon, 
that  would  secure  your  ejection  from  the  congregation  of 
the  zealous  botchers,  the  pure-hearted  weavers,  and  the 
sanctified  bakers  of  Abingdon,  who  let  their  ovens  cool 
while  their  brains  get  heated." 

"  To  answer  you  in  the  spirit,  Master  Varney,"  said 
Foster,  "  were — excuse  the  parable — to  fling  sacred  and 
precious  things  before  swine.  So  I  will  speak  to  thee  in 
the  language  of  the  world,  which  he,  who  is  King  of  the 
World,  hath  taught  thee  to  understand,  and  to  profit  by 
in  no  common  measure." 

"  Say  what  thou  wilt,  honest  Tony,"  replied  Varney ; 
"  for  be  it  according  to  thine  absurd  faith,  or  according 
to  thy  most  villanous  practice,  it  cannot  choose  but  be 
rare  matter  to  qualify  this  cup  of  Alicant.  Thy  conver- 
sation is  relishing  and  poignant,  and  beats  caviar,  dried 
neats-tongue,  and  all  other  provocatives  that  give  savour 
to  good  liquor." 

"  Well,  then,  tell  me,"  said  Anthony  Foster,  "  is  not 
our  good  lord  and  master's  turn  better  served,  and  his 
anti-chamber  more  suitably  filled,  with  decent,  God-fear- 
ing men,'  who  will  work  his  will  and  their  own  profit 
quietly,  and  without  worldly  scandal,  than  that  he  should 
be  manned,  and  attended,  and  followed  by  such  open 
debauchers  and  ruffianly  swordsmen  as  Tidesly,  Killigrew, 
this  fellow  Lambourne,  whom  you  have  put  me  to  seek 
out  for  you,  and  other  such,  who  bear  the  gallows  in  their 


KENXIAVORTH. 


59 


face  and  murder  in  their  right  hand — who  are  a  terror  to 
peaceable  men,  and  a  scandal  to  my  lord's  service  ?" 

"  Oh,  content  you,  good  Master  Anthony  Foster," 
answered  Varney  ;  "  he  that  flies  at  all  manner  of  game 
must  keep  all  kinds  of  hawks,  both  short  and  long-wing- 
ed. The  course  my  lord  holds  is  no  easy  one,  and  he 
must  stand  provided  at  all  points  with  trusty  retainers  to 
meet  each  sort  of  service.  He  must  have  his  gay  cour- 
tier, like  myself,  to  ruffle  it  in  the  presence-chamber,  and 
to  lay  hold  on  kit  when  any  speaks  in  disparagement  of 
my  lord's  honour — " 

"  Ay,"  said  Foster,  "  and  to  whisper  a  word  for  him 
into  a  fair  lady's  ear,  when  he  may  not  approach  her 
himself." 

"  Then,"  said  Varney,  going  on  without  appearing  to 
notice  the  interruption,  "  he  must  have  his  lawyers — 
deep  subtle  pioneers — to  draw  his  contracts — his  pre- 
contracts, and  his  post-contracts,  and  to  find  the  way  to 
make  the  most  of  grants  of  church-lands,  and  commons, 
and  licenses  for  monopoly — And  he  must  have  physicians 
who  can  spice  a  cup  or  a  caudle — And  he  must  have  his 
cabalists,  like  Dee  and  Allan,  for  conjuring  up  the  devil 
— And  he  must  have  ruffling  swordsmen,  wrho  would  fight 
the  devil  wThen  he  is  raised  and  at  the  wildest — And  above 
all,  without  prejudice  to  others,  he  must  have  such  godly, 
innocent,  puritanic  souls  as  thou,  honest  Anthony,  who 
defy  Satan,  and  do  his  work  at  the  same  time." 

"  You  would  not  say,  Master  Varney,"  said  Foster, 
"  that  our  good  lord  and  master,  whom  I  hold  to  be  ful- 
filled in  all  nobleness,  would  use  such  base  and  sinful 
means  to  rise,  as  thy  speech  points  at  ?" 

"  Tush,  man,"  said  Varney,  "  never  look  at  me  with 
so  sad  a  brow — you  trap  me  not — nor  am  I  in  your  power, 
as  your  weak  brain  may  imaginev^ecause  I  name  to  you 
freely  the  engines,  the  springs,  tnfcyscrews,  the  tackle, 
and  braces,  by  which  great  men  rise^hVstirring  times. — 
Sayest  thou  our  good  lord  is  fulfilled  of  all  nobleness  ? — 
Amen,  and  so  be  it — he  has  the  more  need  to  have  those 
about  him  who  are  unscrupulous  in  his  service,  and  who, 


60 


KENIL  WORTH. 


because  they  know  that  his  fall  will  overwhelm  and  crush 
them,  must  wager  both  blood  and  brain,  soul  and  body, 
in  order  to  keep  him  aloft ;  and  this  I  tell  thee,  because 
I  care  not  who  knows  it." 

"  You  speak  truth,  Master  Varney,"  said  Anthony 
Foster  ;  "  he  that  is  head  of  a  party,  is  but  a  boat  on  a 
wave,  that  raises  not  itself,  but  is  moved  upward  by  the 
billow  which  it  floats  upon." 

"Thou  art  metaphorical,  honest  Anthony,"  replied 
Varney  ;  «  that  velvet  doublet  hath  made  an  oracle  of 
thee — we  will  have  thee  to  Oxford  to  take  the  degrees  in 
the  arts. — And,  in  the  meantime,  hast  thou  arranged  all 
the  matters  which  were  sent  from  London,  and  put  the 
western  chambers  into  such  fashion  as  may  answer  my 
lord's  humour  .?" 

"  They  may  serve  a  king  on  his  bridal-day,"  said 
Anthony  ;  "  and  I  promise  you  that  Dame  Amy  sits  in 
them  yonder,  as  proud  and  gay  as  if  she  were  the  Queen 
of  Sheba." 

"  'Tis  the  better,  good  Anthony,"  answered  Varney ; 
"  we  must  found  our  future  fortunes  on  her  good  liking." 

"  We  build  on  sand  then."  said  Anthony  Foster  ;  "  for 
supposing  that  she  sails  away  to  court,  in  all  her  lord's 
dignity  and  authority,  how  is  she  like  to  look  back  upon 
me,  who  am  her  jailor  as  it  were  to  detain  her  here  against 
her  will,  keeping  her  a  caterpillar  on  an  old  wall,  when 
she  would  fain  be  a  painted  butterfly  in  a  court  garden  ?" 

"  Fear  not  her  displeasure,  man,"  said  Varney  ;  "  I 
will  show  her  that  all  thou  hast  done  in  this  matter  was 
good  service,  both  to  my  lord  and  her ;  and  when  she 
chips  the  egg-shell  and  walks  alone,  she  shall  own  we 
have  hatched  her  greatness." 

"  Look  to  yourself,  Master  Varney,"  said  Foster, 
"  you  may  misreckon  foully  in  this  matter — She  gave  you 
but  a  frosty  reception  this  morning,  and,  I  think,  looks  on 
you,  as  well  as  me,  with  an  evil  eye." 

f  You  mistake  her,  Foster — you  mistake  her  utterly 
— To  me  she  is  bound  by  all  the  ties  which  can  secure 
her  to  one  who  has  been  the  means  of  gratifying  both  her 


KENEL  WORTH. 


61 


love  and  ambition.  Who  was  it  that  took  the  obscure 
Amy  Robsart,  the  daughter  of  an  impoverished  and  do- 
tard knight — the  destined  bride  of  a  moonstruck,  moping 
enthusiast,  like  Edmund  Tressilian,  from  her  lowly  fates, 
and  held  out  to  her  in  prospect,  the  brightest  fortune  in 
England,  or  perchance  in  Europe  ?  Why  man,  it  was  I 
— as  I  have  often  told  thee — that  found  opportunity  for 
their  secret  meetings — It  was  I  who  watched  the  wood 
whilst  he  beat  for  the  deer — It  was  I  who,  to  this  .day, 
am  blamed  by  her  family  as  companion  of  her  flight,  and 
were  I  in  their  neighbourhood,  would  be  fain  to  wear  a 
shirt  of  better  stuff  than  Holland  linen,  lest  my  ribs  should 
be  acquainted  with  Spanish  steel.  Who  carried  their 
letters  ? — I.  Who  amused  the  old  knight  and  Tressilian  ? 
— I.  Who  planned  her  escape  ? — It  was  I.  It  was  I,  in 
short,  who  pulled  this  pretty  little  daisy  from  its  lowly 
nook,  and  placed  it  in  the  proudest  bonnet  in  Britain." 

"  Ay,  Master  Varney,"  said  Foster,  "  but  it  may  be, 
she  thinks  that  had  the  matter  remained  with  you,  the 
flower  had  been  stuck  so  slightly  into  the  cap,  that  the 
first  breath  of  a  changeable  breeze  of  passion,  had  blown 
the  poor  daisy  to  the  common." 

"  She  should  consider,"  said  Varney,  smiling,  "  the 
true  faith  I  owed  my  lord  and  master  prevented  me  at 
first  from  counselling  marriage — and  yet  I  did  counsel 
marriage  when  I  saw  she  would  not  be  satisfied  without 
the — the  sacrament  or  the  ceremony — which  callest  thou 
it,  Anthony  ?" 

"  Still  she  has  you  at  feud  on  another  score,"  said 
Foster ;  "  and  I  tell  it  you  that  you  may  look  to  yourself 
in  time — She  would  not  hide  her  splendour  in  this  dark 
lantern  of  an  old  monastic  house,  but  would  fain  shine  a 
countess  amongst  countesses." 

"  Very  natural,  .very  right,"  answered  Varney  ;  "  but 
what  have  I  to  do  with  that  ? — she  may  shine  through 
horn  or  through  crystal  at  my  lord's  pleasure,  I  have 
nought  to  say  against  it." 

6     VOL.  I. 


m 


KEMIWORTH. 


u  She  deems  that  you  have  an  oar  upon  that  side  of 
the  boat,  Master  Varney,"  replied  Foster,  "  and  that  you 
can  pull  it  or  no,  at  your  good  pleasure.  In  a  word,  she 
ascribes  the  secrecy  and  obscurity  in  which  she  is  kept, 
to  your  secret  counsel  to  my  lord,  and  to  my  strict  agen- 
cy ;  and  so  she  loves  us  both  as  a  sentenced  man  loves 
his  judge  and  his  jailor." 

"  She  must  love  us  better  ere  she  leave  this  place, 
Anthony,"  answered  Varney.  "  If  I  have  counselled 
for  weighty  reasons  that  she  remain  here  for  a  season,  I 
can  also  advise  her  being  brought  forth  in  the  full  blow  of 
her  dignity.  But  I  were  mad  to  do  so,  holding  so  near 
a  place  to  my  lord's  person,  were  she  mine  enemy. 
Bear  this  truth  in  upon  her  as  occasion  offers,  Anthony, 
and  let  me  alone  for  extolling  you  in  her  ear,  and  exalt- 
ing you  in  her  opinion — Ka  me,  ka  thee — it  is  a  proverb 
all  over  the  world — The  lady  must  know  her  friends,  and 
be  made  to  judge  of  the  power  they  have  of  being  her 
enemies — meanwhile,  watch  her  strictly,  but  with  all  the 
outward  observance  that  thy  rough  nature  will,  permit. 
'Tis  an  excellent  thing  that  sullen  look  and  bull-dog  hu- 
mour of  thine  ;  thou  shoulclst  thank  God  for  it,  and  so 
should  my  lord  ;  for  when  there  is  aught  harsh  or  hard-na- 
tured  to  be  done,  thou  doest  it  as  if  it  flowed  from  thine 
own  natural  doggedness,  and  not  from  orders,  and  so  my 
lord  escapes  the  scandal. — But  hark — some  one  knocks 
at  the  gate — look  out  at  the  window — let  no  one  enter — 
this  were  an  ill  night  to  be  interrupted." 

"It  is  he  whom  we  spoke  of  before  dinner,"  said 
Foster,  as  he  looked  through  the  casement  ;  "it  is 
Michael  Lambourne." 

"  Oh,  admit  him,  by  all  means,"  said  the  courtier, 
"  he  comes  to  give  some  account  of  his  guest — it  imports 
us  much  to  know  the  movements  of  Edmund  Tressilian 
— Admit  him,  I  say,  but  bring  him  not  hither — I  will 
come  to  you  presently  in  the  abbot's  library." 

Foster  left  the  room,  and  the  courtier,  who  remained 
behind,  paced  the  parlour  more  than  once  in  deep  thought, 
his  arms  folded  on  his  bosom,  until  at  length  he  gave  vent 


R  K  N 1 1  i  WORTH. 


71 


to  his  meditations  in  broken  words,  which  we  have  some- 
what enlarged  and  connected,  that  his  soliloquy  may  be 
intelligible  to  the  reader. 

"  'Tis  true,"  he  said,  suddenly  stopping,  and  resting 
his  right  hand  on  the  table  at  which  they  had  been  sitting, 
"  this  base  churl  hath  fathomed  the  very  depth  of  my 
fear,  and  I  have  been  unable  to  disguise  it  from  him — She 
loves  me  not — I  would  it  were  as  true  that  I  loved 
not  her — Idiot  that  I  was,  to  move  her  in  my  own  behalf, 
when  wisdom  bade  me  be  a  true  broker  to  my  lord  ! — 
And  this  fatal  error  has  placed  me  more  at  her  discretion 
than  a  wise  man  would  willingly  be  at  that  of  the  best 
piece  of  painted  Eve's  flesh  of  them  all.  Since  the  hour 
that  my  policy  made  so  perilous  a  slip,  I  cannot  look  at 
her  without  fear,  and  hate,  and  fondness,  so  strangely 
mingled,  that  I  know  not  whether,  were  it  at  my  choice, 
I  would  rather  possess  or  ruin  her.  But  she  must  not 
leave  this  retreat  until  I  am  assured  on  what  terms  we  are 
to  stand.  My  lord's  interest — and  so  far  it  is  mine  own 
- — for  if  he  sinks  I  fall  in  his  train — demands  conceal- 
ment of  this  obscure  marriage — and  besides  I  will  not 
lend  her  my  arm  to  climb  to  her  chair  of  state,  that  she 
may  set  her  foot  on  my  neck  when  she  is  fairly  seated. 
I  must  work  an  interest  in  her,  either  through  love  or 
through  fear — and  who  knows  but  I  may  yet  reap  the 
sweetest  and  best  revenge  for  her  former  scorn  ? — that 
were  indeed  a  master-piece  of  courtlike  art  ! — Let  me 
but  once  be  her  counsel-keeper — let  her  confide  to  me  a 
secret,  did  it  but  concern  the  robbery  of  a  linnet's  nest, 
and,  fair  countess,  thou  art  mine  own."  He  again  paced 
the  room -in  silence,  stopped,  filled,  and  drank  a  cup  of 
wine,  as  if  to  compose  the  agitation  of  his  mind,  and 
muttering,  "  Now  for  a  close  heart,  and  an  open  and  un- 
ruffled brow,"  he  left  the  apartment. 


64 


KENI1W0RTH. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  dews  of  summer  night  did  fall, 

The  moon,  sweet  regent  of  the  sky, 
Silver'd  the  walls  of  Cumnor-hall, 

And  many  an  oak  that  grew  thereby. 

Mickle. 

Four  apartments,  which  occupied  the  western  side  of 
the  old  quadrangle  at  Cumnor-Place,  had  been  fitted  up 
with  extraordinary  splendour.  This  had  been  the  work 
of  several  days  prior  to  that  on  which  our  story  opened. 
Workmen  sent  from  London,  and  not  permitted  to  leave 
the  premises  until  the  work  was  finished,  had  converted 
the  apartments  in  that  whole  side  of  the  building,  from 
the  dilapidated  appearance  of  a  dissolved  monastic  house, 
into  the  semblance  of  a  royal  palace.  A  mystery  was 
observed  in  all  these  arrangements  ;  the  workmen  came 
thither  and  returned  by  night,  and  all  measures  were 
taken  to  prevent  the  prying  curiosity  of  the  villagers  from 
observing  or  speculating  upon  the  changes  which  were 
taking  place  in  the  mansion  of  their  once  indigent,  but 
now  wealthy  neighbour,  Anthony  Foster.  Accordingly, 
the  secrecy  desired  was  so  far  preserved,  that  nothing  got 
abroad  but  vague  and  uncertain  reports,  which  were  re- 
ceived and  repeated,  but  without  much  credit  being  at- 
tached to  them. 

On  the  evening  of  which  we  treat,  the  new  and  highly 
decorated  suite  of  rooms  were,  for  the  first  time,  illumin- 
ated, and  that  with  a  brilliancy  which  might  have  been 
visible  half-a-dozen  miles  off,  had  not  oaken  shutters, 
carefully  secured  with  bolt  and  padlock,  and  mantled 
with  long  curtains  of  silk  and  of  velvet,  deeply  fringed 
with  gold,  prevented  the  radiance  from  being  seen  without. 

The  principal  apartments,  as  we  have  seen,  were  four 
in  number,  each  opening  into  the  other.     Access  was 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


65 


ghten  to  them  by  a  large  scale  staircase,  as  they  were 
ihen  called,  of  unusual  length  and  height,  which  had  its 
landing-place  at  the  door  of  an  anti-chamber,  shaped 
somewhat  like  a  gallery.  This  apartment  the  abbot  had 
used  as  an  occasional  council-room,  but  it  was  now  beau- 
tifully wainscotted  with  dark  foreign  wood  of  a  brown 
colour,  and  bearing  a  high  polish,  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the  Western  Indies,  and  to  have  been 
wrought  in  London  with  infinite  difficulty,  and  much 
damage  to  the  tools  of  the  workmen.  The  dark  colour 
of  this  finishing  was  relieved  by  the  number  of  lights  in 
silver  sconces,  which  hung  against  the  walls,  and  by  six 
large  and  richly-framed  pictures,  by  the  first  masters  of 
the  age.  A  massy  oaken  table,  placed  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  apartment,  served  to  accommodate  such  as  chose 
to  play  at  the  then  fashionable  game  of  shovel-board  ; 
and  there  was  at  the  other  end,  an  elevated  gallery,  for 
the  musicians  or  minstrels,  who  might  be  summoned  to 
increase  the  festivity  of  the  evening. 

From  this  anti-chamber  opened  a  banquetting-room  of 
moderate  size,  but  brilliant  enough  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of 
the  spectator  with  the  richness  of  its  furniture.  The 
walls,  lately  so  bare  and  ghastly,  were  now  clothed  with 
hangings  of  sky-blue  velvet  and  silver  $  the  chairs  were 
of  ebony,  richly  carved,  with  cushions  corresponding  to 
the  hangings,  and  the  place  of  the  silver  sconces  which 
enlightened  the  anti-chamber,  was  supplied  by  a  huge 
chandelier  of  the  same  precious  metal.  The  floor  was 
covered  with  a  Spanish  foot-cloth,  or  carpet,  on  which 
flowers  and  fruits  were  represented  in  such  glowing  and 
natural  colours,  that  you  hesitated  to  place  the  foot  on 
such  exquisite  workmanship.  The  table,  of  old  English 
oak,  stood  ready  covered  with  the  finest  linen,  and  a 
large  portable  cour>cupboard  was  placed  with  the  leaves 
of  its  embossed  folding-doors  displayed,  showing  the 
shelves  within,  decorated  with  a  full  display  of  plate  and 
porcelain.  In  the  midst  of  the  table  stood  a  salt-cellar 
of  Italian  workmanship,  a  beautiful  and  splendid  piece  of 

6*     VOL.  I. 


06 


KE  NIX  WORTH- 


plate,  about  two  feet  high,  moulded  into  a  representation 
of  the  giant  Briareus,  whose  hundred  hands  of  silver* 
presented  to  the  guest  various  sort  of  spices,  or  condi- 
ments, to  season  th  3ir  food  withal. 

The  third  apartment  was  called  the  withdrawing-room. 
It  was  hung  with  the  finest  tapestry,  representing  the  Fall 
of  Phaeton  ;  for  the  looms  of  Flanders  were  now  much 
occupied  on  classical  subjects.  The  principal  seat  of 
this  apartment  was  a  chair  of  state,  raised  a  step  or  two 
from  the  floor,  and  large  enough  to  contain  two  persons. 
It  was  surmounted  by  a  canopy,  which,  as  well  as  the 
cushions,  side-curtains,  and  the  very  foot-cloth,  was  com- 
posed of  crimson-velvet,  embroidered  with  seed-pearl. 
On  the  top  of  the  canopy  were  two  coronets,  resembling 
those  of  an  earl  and  countess.  Stools  covered  with  vel- 
vet, and  some  cushions  disposed  in  the  Moorish  fashion, 
and  ornamented  with  Arabesque  needle-work,  supplied 
the  place  of  chairs  in  this  apartment,  which  contained 
musical  instruments,  embroidery-frames,  and  other  arti- 
cles for  ladies'  pastime.  Besides  lesser  lights,  the  with- 
drawing-room was  illuminated  by  four  tall  torches  of  vir- 
gin wax,  each  of  which  was  placed  in  the  grasp  of  a 
statue,  representing  an  armed  Moor,  who  held  in  his  left 
arm  a  round  buckler  of  silver,  highly  polished,  interpos- 
ed betwixt  his  breast  and  the  light,  which  was  thus  bril- 
liantly reflected  as  from  a  crystal  mirror. 

The  sleeping-chamber  belonging  to  this  splendid  suite 
of  apartments,  was  decorated  in  a  taste  less  showy,  but 
not  less  rich,  than  had  been  displayed  in  the  others.  Two 
silver  lamps,  fed  with  perfumed  oil,  diffused  at  once  a 
delicious  odour  and  a  trembling  twilight-seeming  shimmer 
through  the  quiet  apartment.  It  was  carpeted  so  thick, 
that  the  heaviest  step  could  not  have  been  heard,  and  the 
bed,  richly  heaped  with  down,  was  spread  with  an  ample 
coverlet  of  silk  and  gold  ;  from  under  which  peeped  forth 
cambric  sheets,  and  blankets  as  white  as  the  lambs  which 
yielded  the  fleece  that  made  them.  The  curtains  were 
of  blue  velvet,  lined  with  crimson  silk,  deeply  festooned 
with  gold,  and  embroidered  with  the  Loves  of  Cupid  and 


KENILWOHTH. 


67 


Psyche.  On  the  toilet  was  a  beautiful  Venitian  mirror, 
in  a  frame  of  silver  fillagree,  and  beside  it  stood  a  gold 
posset-dish  to  contain  the  night-draught.  A  pair  of  pis- 
tols and  a  dagger,  mounted  with  gold,  were  displayed  near 
the  head  of  the  bed,  being  the  arms  for  the  night,  which 
were  presented  to  honoured  guests,  rather,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed, in  the  way  of  ceremony,  than  from  any  apprehen- 
sion of  danger.  We  must  not  omit  to  mention,  what  was 
more  to  the  credit  of  the  manners  of  the  time,  that  in  a 
small  recess,  illuminated  by  a  taper,  were  disposed  two  has- 
socks of  velvet  and  gold,  corresponding  with  the  bed  fur- 
niture, before  a  desk  of  carved  ebony.  This  recess  had 
formerly  been  the  private  oratory  of  the  abbot,  but  the 
crucifix  was  removed,  and  instead,  there  were  placed  on 
the  desk  two  Books  of  Common  Prayer,  richly  bound, 
and  embossed  with  silver.  With  this  enviable  sleeping 
apartment,  which  was  so  far  removed  from  every  sound 
save  that  of  the  wind  sighing  among  the  oaks  of  the  park> 
that  Morpheus  might  have  coveted  it  for  his  own  proper 
repose,  corresponded  two  wardrobes,  or  dressing-rooms 
as  they  are  now  termed,  suitably  furnished,  and  in  a  style 
of  the  same  magnificence  which  we  have  already  describ- 
ed. It  ought  to  be  added,  that  a  part  of  the  building  in 
the  adjoining  wing  was  occupied  by  the  kitchen  and  its 
offices,  and  served  to  accommodate  the  personal  attend- 
ants of  the  great  and  wealthy  nobleman,  for  whose  use 
these  magnificent  preparations  had  been  made. 

The  divinity,  for  whose  sake  this  temple  had  been  dec- 
orated, was  well  worthy  the  cost  and  pains  which  had 
been  bestowed.  She  was  seated  in  the  withdrawing-room 
which  we  have  described,  surveying  with  the  pleased  eye 
of  natural  and  innocent  vanity,  the  splendour  which  had 
been  so  suddenly  created,  as  it  were,  in  her  honour.  For, 
as  her  own  residence  at  Cumnor-Place  formed  the  cause 
of  the  mystery  observed  in  all  the  preparations  for  open- 
ing these  apartments,  it  was  sedulously  arranged,  that  un- 
til she  took  possession  of  them,  she  should  have  no  means 
of  knowing  what  was  going  forward  in  that  part  of  the 
ancient  building,  or  of  exposing  herself  to  be  seen  by  the 


68 


KENILWORTH. 


workmen  engaged  in  the  decorations.  She  had  been, 
therefore,  introduced  upon  that  evening  to  a  part  of  the 
mansion  which  she  had  never  yet  seen,  so  different  from 
all  the  rest,  that  it  appeared,  in  comparison,  like  an  en- 
chanted palace.  And  when  she  first  examined  and  occu- 
pied these  splendid  rooms,  it  was  with  the  wild  and  un- 
restrained joy  of  a  rustic  beauty,  who  finds  herself  sud- 
denly invested  with  a  splendour  which  her  most  extrava- 
gant wishes  had  never  shaped  for  her,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  the  keen  feeling  of  an  affectionate  heart,  which 
knows  that  all  the  enchantment  which  surrounds  her,  is 
the  work  of  the  great  magician  Love. 

The  Countess  Amy,  therefore, — for  to  that  rank  she 
was  exalted  by  her  private  but  solemn  union  with  Eng- 
land's proudest  Earl, — had  for  a  time  flitted  hastily  from 
room  to  room,  admiring  each  new  proof  of  her  lover  and 
her  bridegroom's  taste,  and  feeling  that  admiration  en- 
hanced, as  she  recollected  that  all  she  gazed  upon  was 
one  continued  proof  of  his  ardent  and  devoted  affection. 
— "  How  beautiful  are  these  hangings  ! — How  natural 
these  paintings,  which  seem  to  contend  with  life  ! — How 
richly  wrought  is  that  plate,  which  looks  as  if  all  the  gal- 
leons of  Spain  had  been  intercepted  on  the  broad  seas  to 
furnish  it  forth  ! — And  oh,  Janet  !"  she  exclaimed  re- 
peatedly to  the  daughter  of  Anthony  Foster,  the  close  at- 
tendant, who,  with  equal  curiosity,  but  somewhat  less 
ecstatic  joy,  followed  on  her  mistress's  footsteps — "  O, 
Janet  !  how  much  more  delightful  to  think,  that  all  these 
fair  things  have  been  assembled  by  his  love,  for  the  love 
of  me  !  and  that  this  evening — this  very  evening,  which 
wears  darker  and  darker  every  instant,  I  shall  thank  him 
more  for  the  love  that  has  created  such  an  unimaginable 
paradise,  than  for  all  the  wonders  it  contains." 

"  The  Lord  is  to  be  thanked  first,"  said  the  pretty  pu- 
ritan, "  who  gave  thee,  lady,  the  kind  and  courteous  hus- 
band, whose  love  has  done  so  much  for  thee.  I,  too, 
have  done  my  poor  share.  But  if  you  thus  run  wildly 
from  room  to  room,  the  toil  of  my  crisping  and  my  curl- 


KENILWORTH. 


GO 


ing  pins  will  vanish  like  the  frost-work  on  the  window 
when  the  sun  is  high." 

"  Thou  sayest  true,  Janet,"  said  the  young  and  beau- 
tiful countess,  stopping  suddenly  from  her  tripping  race 
of  enraptured  delight,  and  looking  at  herself  from  head 
to  foot  in  a  large  mirror,  such  as  she  had  never  before  seen, 
and  which,  indeed,  had  few  to  match  it  even  in  the  Queen's 
palace — "  Thou  sayest  true,  Janet,"  she  answered,  as 
she  saw,  with  pardonable  self-applause,  the  noble  mirror 
reflect  such  charms  as  were  seldom  presented  to  its  fair 
and  polished  surface  ;  "  I  have  more  of  the  milk-maid 
than  the  countess,  with  these  cheeks  flushed  with  haste, 
and  all  these  brown  curls,  which  you  laboured  to  bring  to 
order,  straying  as  wild  as  the  tendrils  of  an  unpruned  vine 
— My  falling  ruff  is  chafed  too,  and  shows  the  neck  and 
bosom  more  than  is  modest  and  seemly — Come,  Janet — 
we  will  practise  state — we  will  go  to  the  withdrawing- 
room,  my  good  girl,  and  thou  shalt  put  these  rebel  locks 
in  order,  and  imprison  within  lace  and  cambric  the  bosom 
that  beats  too  high." 

They  went  to  the  withdrawing  apartment  accordingly, 
where  the  countess  playfully  stretched  her  upon  the  pile 
of  Moorish  cushions,  half  sitting,  half  reclining,  half  wrapt 
in  her  own  thoughts,  half  listening  to  the  prattle  of  her 
attendant. 

While  she  was  in  this  attitude,  and  with  a  correspond- 
ing expression  betwixt  listlessness  and  expectation  on  her 
fine  and  expressive  features,  you  might  have  searched 
sea  and  land  without  finding  any  thing  half  so  expressive 
or  half  so  lovely.  The  wreath  of  brilliants  which  mixed 
with  her  dark  brown  hair,  did  not  match  in  lustre  the 
hazle-eye  which  a  light-brown  eyebrow,  pencilled  with 
exquisite  delicacy,  and  long  eyelashes  of  the  same  col- 
our, relieved  and>shaded.  The  exercise  she  had  just 
taken,  her  excited  expectation  and  gratified  vanity,  spread 
a  glowT  over  her  fine  features,  which  had  been  sometimes 
censured  for  being  rather  too  pale.  The  necklace  of 
milk  white  pearls  which  she  wore,  the  same  which  she 
had  just  received  as  a  true-love  token  from  her  husband, 


TO 


KENILWORTH. 


were  excelled  in  purity  by  her  teeth,  and  by  the  colour 
of  her  skin,  saving  where  the  blush  of  pleasure  and  self- 
satisfaction  had  somewhat  stained  the  neck  with  a  shade 
of  light  crimson. — "  Now  have  done  with  these  busy  fin- 
gers, Janet,"  she  said  to  her  busy  hand-maiden,  who  was 
still  officiously  employed  in  bringing  her  hair,  and  her 
dress  into  order — "  Have  done,  I  say — I  must  see  your 
father  ere  my  lord  arrives,  and  also  Master  Richard  Var- 
ney,  whom  my  lord  has  highly  in  his  esteem — but  I  could 
tell  that  of  him  would  lose  him  favour." 

"  O  do  not  do  so,  good  my  lady  !"  replied  Janet  ; 
"  leave  him  to  God,  who  punishes  the  wicked  in  his  own 
time  ;  but  do  not  you  cross  Varney's  path,  for  so  thor- 
oughly hath  he  my  lord's  ear,  that  few  have  thriven  who 
have  thwarted  his  courses." 

"  And  from  whom  had  you  this,  my  most  righteous 
Janet  ?"  said  the  countess ;  "  or  why  should  I  keep  terms 
with  so  mean  a  gentleman  as  Varney,  being,  as  I  am,  wife 
to  his  master  and  patron  ?" 

"  Nay,  madam,"  replied  Janet  Foster,  "  your  ladyship 
knows  better  than  I — But  I  have  heard  my  father  say  he 
would  rather  cross  a  hungry  wolf,  than  thwart  Richard 
Varney  in  his  projects — And  he  has  oft  charged  me  to 
have  a  care  of  holding  commerce  with  him." 

"  Thy  father  said  well,  girl,  for  thee,"  replied  the  lady, 
"  and  I  dare  swear  meant  well.  It  is  a  pity,  though,  his 
face  and  manner  do  little  match  his  true  purpose — for  I 
think  his  purpose  may  be  true." 

"  Doubt  it  not,  my  lady,"  answered  Janet — "  Doubt 
not  that  my  father  purposes  well,  though  he  is  a  plain 
man,  and  his  blunt  looks  may  belie  his  heart." 

"  I  will  not  doubt  it,  girl,  were  it  only  for  thy  sake  ; 
and  yet  he  has  one  of  those  faces  which  men  tremble 
when  they  look  on — I  think  even  thy  mother,  Janet — 
nay,  have  done  with  that  poking-iron— could  hardly  look 
upon  him  without  quaking." 

"  If  it  were  so,  madam,"  answered  Janet  Foster,  "  my 
mother  had  those  who  could  keep  her  in  honourable  coun- 


KENIL  WORTH. 


71 


ienance.  Why,  even  you,  my  lady,  both  trembled  and 
blushed  when  Varney  brought  the  letter  from  my  lord." 

"  You  are  bold,  damsel,"  said  the  countess,  rising  from 
the  cushions  on  which  she  sat  half  reclined  in  the  arms 
of  her  attendant — "  Know  that  there  are  causes  of  trem- 
bling which  have  nothing  to  do  with  fear. — But,  Janet," 
she  added,  immediately  relapsing  into  the  good-natured 
and  familiar  tone  which  was  natural  to  her,  "  believe  me 
I  will  do  what  credit  I  can  to  your  father,  and  the  rather, 
that  you,  sweetheart,  are  his  child. — Alas  !  alas-  !"  she 
added,  a  sudden  sadness  passing  over  her  fine  features, 
and  her  eyes  filling  with  tears,  "  I  ought  the  rather  to  hold 
sympathy  with  thy  kind  heart,  that  my  own  poor  father  is 
uncertain  of  my  fate,  and  they  say  lies  sick  and  sorrow- 
ful for  my  worthless  sake — But  I  will  soon  cheer  him — 
the  news  of  my  happiness  and  advancement  will  make 
him  young  again. — And  that  I  may  cheer  him  the  sooner" 
— she  wiped  her  eyes  as  she  spoke — "  I  must  be  cheerful 
myself — My  lord  must  not  find  me  insensible  to  his  kind- 
ness, or  sorrowful  when  he  snatches  a  visit  to  his  recluse, 
after  so  long  an  absence. — Be  merry,  Janet — the  night 
wears  on,  and  my  lord  must  soon  arrive. — Call  thy  father 
hither,  and  call  Varney  also — I  cherish  resentment  against 
neither ;  and  though  I  may  have  some  room  to  complain 
of  both,  it  shall  be  their  own  fault  if  ever  a  complaint 
against  them  reaches  the  earl  through  my  means. — Call 
them  hither,  Janet." 

Janet  Foster  obeyed  her  mistress  ;  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes after,  Varney  entered  the  with  drawing-room  with  the 
graceful  ease  and  unclouded  front  of  an  accomplished 
courtier,  skilled,  under  the  veil  of  external  politeness,  to 
disguise  his  own  feelings,  and  to  penetrate  into  those  of 
others.  Anthony  Foster  plodded  into  the  apartment  after 
him,  his  natural  gloomy  vulgarity  of  aspect  seeming  to 
become  yet  more  remarkable,  from  his  clumsy  attempt  to 
conceal  the  anxious  mixture  of  anxiety  and  dislike  with 
which  he  looked  on  her,  over  whom  he  had  hitherto  ex- 
ercised so  severe  a  control,  now  so  splendidly  attired,  and 
decked  with  so  many  pledges  of  the  interest  which  she 


72 


KEffllWORTII. 


possessed  in  her  husband's  affections.  !  The  blundering 
reverence  which  he  made,  rather  at  than  to  the  countess, 
had  confession  in  it — It  was  like  the  reverence  which  the 
criminal  makes  to  the  judge,  when  he  at  once  confesses 
his  guilt  and  implores  mercy, — which  is  at  the  same  time 
an  impudent  and  embarrassed  attempt  at  defence  or  ex- 
tenuation, a  confession  of  a  fault,  and  an  entreaty  for 
lenity. 

Varney,  who,  in  right  of  his  gentle  blood,  had  pressed 
into  the  **oom  before  Anthony  Foster,  knew  better  what 
to  say  than  he,  and  said  it  with  more  assurance  and  a 
better  grace. 

The  countess  greeted  him  indeed  with  an  appearance 
of  cordiality,  which  seemed  a  complete  amnesty  for  what- 
ever she  might  have  to  complain  of.  She  rose  from  her 
seat,  and  advanced  two  steps  towards  him,  holding  forth 
her  hand  as  she  said,  "  Master  Richard  Varney,  you 
brought  me  this  morning  such  welcome  tidings,  that  I  fear 
surprise  and  joy  made  me  neglect  my  lord  and  husband's 
charge  to  receive  you  with  distinction.  We  offer  you 
our  hand,  sir,  in  reconciliation." 

"  I  am  unworthy  to  touch  it,"  said  Varney,  dropping  on 
one  knee,  "  save  as  a  subject  honours  that  of  a  prince." 

He  touched  with  his  lips  those  fair  and  slender  fingers, 
so  richly  loaded  with  rings  and  jewels  ;  then  rising,  with 
graceful  gallantry,  was  about  to  hand  her  to  the  chair  of 
state,  when  she  said,  6*  No,  good  Master  Richard  Var- 
ney, I  take  not  my  place  there  until  my  lord  himself  con- 
ducts me.  I  am  for  the  present  but  a  disguised  countess, 
and  will  not  take  dignity  on  me  until  authorized  by  him 
whom  I  derive  it  from." 

"  I  trust,  my  lady,"  said  Foster,  "  that  in  doing  the 
commands  of  my  lord  your  husband,  in  your  restraint  and 
so  forth,  I  have  not  incurred  your  displeasure,  seeing  that 
J  did  but  my  duty  towards  your  lord  and  mine  ;  for  Heav- 
en, as  holy  writ  saith,  hath  given  the  husband  supremacy 
and  dominion  over  the  wife — I  think  it  runs  so,  or  some- 
thing like  it."  • 


KENILWOIiTH. 


73 


«  I  receive  at  this  moment  so  pleasant  a  surprise,  Mas- 
ter Foster,"  answered  the  countess,  "  that  I  cannot  but 
excuse  the  rigid  fidelity  which  secluded  me  from  these 
apartments,  until  they  had  assumed  an  appearance  so  new 
and  so  splendid." 

"  Ay,  lady,"  said  Foster,  "  it  hath  cost  many  a  fair 
crown  ;  and  that  more  need  not.be  wasted  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  I  leave  you  till  my  lord's  arrival  with 
good  Master  Richard  Varney,  who,  as  I  think,  hath  some- 
what to  say  to  you  from  your  most  noble  lord  and  hus- 
band.— Janet,  follow  me,  to  see  that  all  be  in  order." 

"  No,  Master  Foster,"  said  the  countess,  "  we  will 
your  daughter  remains  here  in  our  apartment ;  out  of  ear- 
shot, however,  in  case  Varney  hath  aught  to  say  to  me 
from  my  lord." 

Foster  made  his  clumsy  reverence,  and  departed,  with 
an  aspect  that  seemed  to  grudge  the  profuse  expense, 
which  had  been  wasted  upon  changing  his  house  from  a 
bare  and  ruinous  grange  to  an  Asiatic  palace.  When  he 
was  gone,  his  daughter  took  her  embroidery  frame,  and 
wTent  to  establish  herself  at  the  bottom  of  the  apartment, 
while  Richard  Varney,  with  a  profoundly  humble  cour- 
tesy, took  the  lowest  stool  he  could  find,  and  placing  it 
by  the  side  of  the  pile  of  cushions  on  which  the  countess 
had  now  again  seated  herself,  sat  with  his  eyes  for  a  time 
fixed  on  the  ground,  and  in  profound  silence.  "  I  thought, 
Master  Varney,"  said  the  countess,  when  she  saw  he  was 
not  likely  to  open  the  conversation,  "  that  you  had  some- 
thing to  communicate  from  my  lord  and  husband  ;  so  at 
least  I  understood  Master  Foster,  and  therefore  I  remov- 
ed my  waiting-maid.  If  I  am  mistaken,  I  will  recall  her 
to  my  side  ;  for  her  needle  is  not  so  absolutely  perfect 
in  tent  and  cross-stitch,  but  what  my  superintendence  is 
advisable. 

"  Lady,"  said  Varney,  "  Foster  was  partly  mistaken  in 
my  purpose.  It  was  not  from,  but  of  your  noble  hus- 
band, and  my  approved  and  most  noble  patron,  that  I  am 
led,  and  indeed  bound  to  speak." 

7     VOL.  I. 


74 


KENILWORTH. 


"  The  theme  is  most  welcome,  sir,"  said  the  countess, 
"  whether  it  be  of  or  from  my  noble  husband.  But  be 
brief,  for  I  expect  his  hasty  approach." 

"  Briefly  then,  madam,"  replied  Varney,  "  and  boldly, 
for  my  argument  requires  both  haste  and  courage — You 
have  this  day  seen  Tressilian." 

"  I  have,  sir,  and  what  of  that  ?" 

"  Nothing  that  concerns  me,  lady.  But  think  you, 
honoured  madam,  that  your  lord  will  hear  it  with  equal 
equanimity  ?" 

"  And  wherefore  should  he  not  ? — To  me  alone  was 
Tressilian's  visit  embarrassing  and  painful,  for  he  brought 
news  of  my  good  father's  illness." 

"  Of  your  father's  illness,  madam  !"  answered  Varney. 
"  It  must  have  been  sudden  then — very  sudden  ;  for  the 
messenger  whom  1  despatched,  at  my  lord's  instance,  found 
the  good  knight  on  the  hunting-field,  cheering  his  beagles 
with  his  wonted  jovial  field-cry.  I  trust,  Tressilian  has 
but  forged  this  news — He  hath  his  reasons,  madam,  as 
you  well  know,  for  disquieting  your  present  happiness." 

"  You  do  him  injustice,  Master  Varney,"  replied  the 
countess  with  animation — "  You  do  him  much  injustice. 
He  is  the  freest,  the  most  open,  the  most  gentle  heart 
that  breathes — My  honourable  lord  ever  excepted,  I  know 
not  one  to  wThom  falsehood  is  more  odious  than  to  Tres- 
silian." 

"  I  crave  your  pardon,  madam,"  said  Varney,  "  I 
meant  the  gentleman  no  injustice — I  knew  not  how  nearly 
his  cause  affected  you.  A  man  may,  in  some  circum- 
stances, disguise  the  truth  for  fair  and  honest  purpose  ; 
for  were  it  to  be  forever  spoken,  and  upon  all  occasions, 
this  were  no  world  to  live  in." 

"  You  have  a  courtly  conscience,  Master  V arney,"  said 
the  countess,  "  and  your  veracity  will  not,  I  think,  inter- 
rupt your  preferment  in  the  world,  such  as  it  is. — But 
touching  Tressilian — I  must  do  him  justice,  for  I  have 
done  him  wrong,  as  none  knows  better  than  thou. — Tres- 
silian's conscience  is  of  other  mould — The  world  thou 
speakest  of  has  not  that  which  could  bribe  him  from  the 


KEN  IXW  OUT  H  • 


75 


way  of  truth  and  honour ;  and  for  living  in  it  with  a  soil- 
ed fame,  the  ermine  would  as  soon  seek  to  lodge  in  the 
den  of  the  foul  pole-cat.  For  this  my  father  loved  him 
— For  this  I  would  have  loved  him — if  I  could. — And 
yet  in  this  case  he  had  what  seemed  to  him,  unknowing 
alike  of  my  marriage,  and  to  whom  I  was  united,  such 
powerful  reasons  to  withdraw  me  from  this  place,  that  I 
well  trust  he  exaggerated  much  my  father's  indisposition, 
and  that  thy  better  news  may  be  the  truer." 

"  Believe  me  they  are,  madam,"  answered  Varney  ; 
"  I  pretend  not  to  be  a  champion  of  that  same  naked  vir- 
tue called  truth,  to  the  very  outrance.  I  can  consent  that 
her  charms  be  hidden  with  a  veil,  were  it  but  for  decen- 
cy's sake.  But  you  must  think  lower  of  my  head  and 
heart,  than  is  due  to  one  whom  my  noble  lord  calls  his 
friend,  if  you  suppose  I  could  wilfully  and  unnecessarily 
palm  upon  your  ladyship  a  falsehood,  so  soon  to  be  de- 
tected, in  a  matter  which  concerns  your  happiness." 

"  Master  Varney,"  said  the  countess,  "  I  know  that  my 
lord  esteems  you,  and  holds  you  a  faithful  and  a  good 
pilot  in  those  seas  in  which  he  has  spread  so  high  and  so 
venturous  a  sail.  Do  not  suppose,  therefore,  I  meant 
hardly  by  you,  when  I  spoke  the  truth  in  Tressilian's  vin- 
dication— I  am,  as  you  well  know,  country-bred,  and  like 
plain  rustic  truth  better  than  courtly  compliment  ;  but  I 
must  change  my  fashions  with  my  sphere,  I  presume." 

"  True,  madam,"  said  Varney,  smiling,  "  and  though 
you  speak  now  in  jest,  it  will  not  be  amiss  that  in  earnest 
your  present  speech  had  some  connexion  with  your  real 
purpose. — A  court-dame — take  the  most  noble — the  most 
virtuous — the  most  unimpeachable  that  stands  around  our 
Queen's  throne — would,  for  example,  have  shunned  to 
speak  the  truth,  or  what  she  thought  such,  in  praise  of  a 
discarded  suitor,  before  the  dependent  and  confidant  of 
her  noble  husband." 

"  And  wherefore,"  said  the  countess,  colouring  impa- 
tiently, "  should  I  not  do  justice  to  Tressilian's  worth, 
before  my  husband's  friend — before  my  husband  himself 
— before  the  whole  world  ?" 


76 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  And  with  the  same  openness,"  said  Varney,  "  your 
ladyship  will  this  night  tell  my  noble  lord  your  husband, 
that  Tressilian  has  discovered  your  place  of  residence, 
so  anxiously  concealed  from  the  world,  and  that  he  has 
had  an  interview  with  you  ?" 

"  Unquestionably.  It  will  be  the  first  thing  I  tell  him, 
together  with  every  word  that  Tressilian  said,  and  that  I 
answered.  I  will  speak  my  own  shame  in  this,  for  Tres- 
silian's  reproaches,  less  just  than  he  esteemed  them,  were 
not  altogether  unmerited — I  will  speak,  therefore,  with 
pain,  but  I  will  speak,  and  speak  all." 

"  Your  ladyship  will  do  your  pleasure,"  answered  Var- 
ney ;  "  but  methinks  it  were  as  well,  since  nothing  calls 
for  so  frank  a  disclosure,  to  spare  yourself  this  pain,  and 
my  noble  lord  the  disquiet,  and  Master  Tressilian,  since 
belike  he  must  be  thought  of  in  the  matter,  the  danger 
which  is  like  to  ensue," 

"I  can  see  nought  of  all  these  terrible  consequences," 
said  the  lady,  composedly,  "  unless  by  imputing  to  my 
noble  lord  unworthy  thoughts,  which  I  am  sure  never  har- 
boured in  his  generous  heart." 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  do  so,"  said  Varney — And  then, 
after  a  moment's  silence,  he  added,  with  a  real  or  affect- 
ed plainness  of  manner,  very  different  from  his  usual 
smooth  courtesy — "  Come,  madam,  I  will  show  you  that 
a  courtier  dare  speak  truth  as  well  as  another,  when  it 
concerns  the  weal  of  those  whom  he  honours  and  regards, 
ay,  and  although  it  may  infer  his  own  danger." — He  wait- 
ed as  if  to  receive  commands,  or  at  least  permission  to 
go  on,  but  as  the  lady  remained  silent,  he  proceeded,  but 
obviously  with  caution.- — "  Look  around  you,"  he  said, 
"  noble  lady,  and  observe  the  barriers  witli  which  this 
place  is  surrounded,  the  studious  mystery  with  which  the 
brightest  jewel  that  England  possesses  is  secluded  from 
the  admiring  gaze — See  with  what  rigour  your  walks  are 
circumscribed,  and  your  movements  restrained,  at  the 
beck  of  yonder  churlish  Foster.  Consider  all  this,  and 
judge  for  yourself  what  can  be  the  cause." 


KENlLWORTH. 


77 


"  My  lord's  pleasure,"  answered  the  countess  ;  and  I 
am  bound  to  seek  no  other  motive." 

"  His  pleasure  it  is  indeed,"  said  Varney  ;  "  and  his 
pleasure  arises  out  of  a  love  worthy  of  the  object  which  in- 
spires it.  But  he  who  possesses  a  treasure,  and  who  val- 
ues it,  is  oft  anxious,  in  proportion  to  the  value  he  puts 
upon  it,  to  secure  it  from  the  depredations  of  others." 

"  What  needs  all  this  talk,  Master  Varney  ?"  said  the 
lady,  in  reply  ;  "  you  would  have  me  believe  that  my 
noble  lord  is  jealous — Suppose  it  true,  I  know  a  cure  for 
jealousy." 

"  Indeed,  madam  !"  said  Varney. 

"  It  is,"  replied  the  lady,  "  to  speak  the  truth  to  my 
lord  at  all  times,  to  hold  up  my  mind  and  my  thoughts 
before  him  as  pure  as  that  polished  mirror  ;  so  that  when 
he  looks  into  my  heart,  he  shall  only  see  his  own  features 
reflected  there." 

"  I  am  mute,  madam,"  answered  Varney  ;  "  and  as  I 
have  no  reason  to  grieve  for  Tressilian.  who  would  have 
my  heart's  blood  were  he  able,  I  shall  reconcile  myself 
easily  to  what  may  befall  the  gentleman,  in  consequence 
of  your  frank  disclosure  of  his  having  presumed  to  intrude 
upon  your  solitude. — You,  who  know  my  lord  so  much 
better  than  I,  will  judge  if  he  be  like  to  bear  the  insult 
unavenged." 

"  Nay,  if  I  could  think  myself  the  cause  of  Tressilian's 
ruin,"  said  the  countess, — "  I  who  have  already  occasion- 
ed him  so  much  distress,  I  might  be  brought  to  be  silent. 
— And  yet  what  will  it  avail  since  he  was  seen  by  Foster, 
and  I  think  by  some  one  else  ? — No,  no,  Varney,  urge  it 
no  more,  I  will  tell  the  whole  matter  to  my  lord  ;  and 
with  such  pleading  for  Tressilian's  folly,  as  shall  dispose 
my  lord's  generous  heart  rather  to  serve  than  to  punish 
him." 

"  Your  judgment,  madam,"  said  Varney,  "  is  far  su- 
perior to  mine,  especially  as  you  may,  if  you  will,  prove 
the  ice  before  you  step  on  it,  by  mentioning  Tressilian's 
name  to  my  lord,  and  observing  how  he  endures  it.  For 

7*     VOL.  I. 


78 


KEtflli  WORTH. 


Foster  and  his  attendant,  they  know  not  Tressilian  by 
sight,  and  I  can  easily  give  them  some  reasonable  excuse 
for  the  appearance  of  an  unknown  stranger." 

The  lady  paused  for  an  instant,  and  then  replied,  "If, 
Varney,  it  be  indeed  true  that  Foster  knows  not  as  yet 
that  the  man  he  saw  was  Tressilian,  I  own  I  were  unwil- 
ling he  should  learn  what  no  ways  concerns  him.  He 
bears  himself  already  with  austerity  enough,  and  I  wish 
him  not  to  be  judge  or  privy-counsellor  in  my  affairs." 

"  Tush,"  said  Varney  ;  "  what  has  the  surly  groom  to 
do  with  your  ladyship's  concerns  ? — No  more,  surely,  than 
the  ban-dog  which  watches  his  court-yard.  If  he  is  in 
aught  distasteful  to  your  ladyship,  I  have  interest  enough 
to  have  him  exchanged  for  a  seneschal  that  shall  be  more 
agreeable  to  you." 

"  Master  Varney,"  said  the  countess,  "  let  us  drop  this 
theme — when  I  complain  of  the  attendants  whom  my 
lord  has  placed  around  me,  it  must  be  to  my  lord  himself. 
— Hark  !  I  hear  the  trampling  of  horse — He  comes  !  he 
comes  !" — she  exclaimed,  jumping  up  in  ecstasy. 

"  I  cannot  think  it  is  he,"  said  Varney  ;  "  or  that  you 
can  hear  the  tread  of  his  horse  through  the  closely  man- 
tled casements." 

"  Stop  me  not,  Varney — my  ears  are  keener  than  thine 
—it  is  he  !" 

"  But,  madam  ! — but  madam  !"  exclaimed  Varney, 
anxiously,  and  still  placing  himself  in  her  way — "  I  trust 
that  what  I  have  spoken  in  humble  duty  and  service,  will 
not  be  turned  to  my  ruin  ? — I  hope  that  my  faithful  ad- 
vice will  not  be  bewrayed  to  my  prejudice  ? — I  implore 
that"  

"  Content  thee,  man — content  thee  !"  said  the  count- 
ess, "  and  quit  my  skirt — you  are  too  bold  to  detain  me 
— Content  thyself,  I  think  not  of  thee." 

At  this  moment  the  folding-doors  flew  wide  open,  and 
a  man  of  majestic  mien,  muffled  in  the  folds  of  a  long 
dark  riding-cloak,  entered  the  apartment. 


KENILWORTH. 


79 


CHAPTER  VII. 

 This  is  He 

Who  rides  on  the  court-gale  ;  controls  its  tides  ; 
Knows  all  their  secret  shoals  and  fatal  eddies  ; 
Whose  frown  abases,  and  whose  smile  exalts. 
He  shines  like  any  rainbow — and,  perchance, 
His  colours  are  as  transient. 

Old  Play. 

There  was  some  little  displeasure  and  confusion  on 
the  countess's  brow,  owing  to  her  struggle  with  Varney's 
pertinacity  ;  but  it  was  exchanged  for  an  expression  of 
the  purest  joy  and  affection,  as  she  threw  herself  into  the 
arms  of  the  noble  stranger  who  entered,  and  clasping  him 
to  her  bosom,  exclaimed,  "  At  length — at  length  thou 
art  come  !" 

Varney  discreetly  withdrew  as  his  lord  entered,  and 
Janet  was  about  to  do  the  same,  when  her  mistress  signed 
to  her  to  remain.  She  took  her  place  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  apartment,  and  remained  standing,  as  if  ready  for 
attendance. 

Meanwhile,  the  earl,  for  he  was  of  no  inferior  rank, 
returned  his  lady's  caress  with  the  most  affectionate  ar- 
dour, but  affected  to  resist  when  she  strove  to  take  his 
cloak  from  him. 

"  Nay,"  she  said,  "  but  I  will  unmantle  you — I  must 
see  if  you  have  kept  your  word  with  me,  and  come  as  the 
great  earl  men  call  thee,  and  not  as  heretofore  like  a  pri- 
vate cavalier." 

"  Thou  art  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  Amy,"  said  the 
earl,  suffering  her  to  prevail  in  the  playful  contest ;  "  the 
jewels,  and  feathers,  and  silk,  are  more  to  them  than  the 
man  whom  they  adorn — many  a  poor  blade  looks  gay  in 
a  velvet  scabbard." 


80 


KENIXWORTH. 


"  But  so  cannot  men  say  of  thee,  thou  noble  earl," 
said  his  lady,  as  the  cloak  dropped  on  the  floor,  and 
showed  him  dressed  as  princes  when  they  ride  abroad ; 
"  thou  art  the  good  and  well  tried  steel,  whose  inly  worth 
deserves,  yet  disdains,  its  outward  ornament.  Do  not 
think  Amy  can  love  thee  better  in  this  glorious  garb,  than 
she  did  when  she  gave  her  heart  to  him  who  wore  the 
russet  brown  cloak  in  the  woods  of  Devon." 

"  And  thou  too,"  said  the  earl,  as  gracefully  and  ma-' 
jestically  he  led  his  beautiful  countess  toward  the  chair 
of  state  which  was  prepared  for  them  both, — "  thou  too, 
my  love,  hast  donned  a  dress  which  becomes  thy  rank, 
though  it  cannot  improve  thy  beauty.  What  think'st  thou 
of  our  court  taste  ? 

The  lady  cast  a  sidelong  glance  upon  the  great  mirror 
as  they  passed  it  by,  and  then  said,  "  I  know  not  how  it 
is,  but  I  think  not  of  my  own  person,  wrhile  I  look  at  the 
reflection  of  thine.  Sit  thou  there,"  said  she  as  they 
approached  the  chair  of  state,  "  like  a  thing  for  men  to 
worship  and  to  wonder  at." 

"  Ay,  love,"  said  the  earl,  "  if  thou  wilt  share  my 
state  with  me." 

.  "  Not  so,"  said  the  countess  ;  "  I  will  sit  on  this  foot- 
stool at  thy  feet,  that  I  may  spell  over  thy  splendour,  and 
learn,  for  the  first  time  how  princes  are  attired." 

And  with  a  childish  wonder,  which  her  youth  and  rus- 
tic education  rendered  not  only  excusable  but  becoming, 
mixed  as  it  was  with  a  delicate  show  of  the  most  tender 
conjugal  affection,  she  examined  and  admired  from  head 
to  foot  the  noble  form  and  princely  attire  of  him,  who 
formed  the  proudest  ornament  of  the  court  of  England's 
maiden  queen,  renowned  as  it  was  for  splendid  court- 
iers, as  well  as  for  wise  counsellors.  Regarding  affec- 
tionately his  lovely  bride,  and  gratified  by  her  unrepress- 
ed  admiration,  the  dark  eye  and  noble  features  of  the 
earl  expressed  passions  more  gentle  than  the  commanding 
and  aspiring  look,  which  usually  sat  upon  his  broad  fore- 
head, and  in  the  piercing  brilliancy  of  his  dark  eye,  and 
be  smiled  at  the  simplicity  which  dictated  thp  questions 


KENILWOItTH. 


81 


she  put  to  him  concerning  the  various  ornaments  with 
which  he  was  decorated. 

«  The  embroidered  strap,  as  thou  callest  it,  around  my 
knee,"  he  said,  "  is  the  English  Garter,  an  ornament 
which  kings  are  proud  to  wear.  See,  here  is  the  star 
which  belongs  to  it,  and  here  the  Diamond  George,  the 
jewel  of  the  Order.  You  have  heard  how  King  Edward 
•and  the  Countess  of  Salisbury"  

"  O,  I  know  all  that  tale,"  said  the  countess,  slightly 
blushing  "  and  how  a  lady's  garter  became  the  proudest 
badge  of  English  chivalry." 

"  Even  so,"  said  the  earl ;  "  and  this  most  honoura- 
ble order  I  had  the  good  hap  to  receive  at  the  same  time 
with  three  most  noble  associates,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
the  Marquis  of  Northampton,  and  the  Earl  of  Rutland. 
I  was  the  lowest  of  the  four  in  rank — but  what  then  ? — 
he  that  climbs  a  ladder  must  begin  at  the  first  round." 

"  But  this  other  fair  collar,  so  richly  wrought,  with 
some  jewel  like  a  sheep  hung  by  the  middle  attached  to 
it,  what,"  said  the  young  countess,  "  does  that  emblem 
signify  ?" 

"  This  collar,"  said  the  earl,  "  with  its  double  fusilles 
interchanged  with  these  knobs  which  are  supposed  to  pre- 
sent flint -stones,  sparkling  with  fire,  and  sustaining  the 
jewel  you  inquired  about,  is  the  badge  of  the  noble  order 
of  the  Golden  Fleece,  once  appertaining  to  the  House  of 
Burgundy.  It  hath  high  privileges,  my  Amy,  belonging 
to  it,  this  most  noble  order ;  for  even  the  King  of  Spain 
himself,  who  hath  now  succeeded  to  the  honours  and  de- 
mesnes of  Burgundy,  may  not  sit  in  judgment  upon  a 
knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  unless  by  assistance  and 
consent  of  the  Great  Chapter  of  the  order." 

"  And  is  this  an  order  belonging  to  the  cruel  King  of 
Spain  ?"  said  the  countess.  "  Alas  !  my  noble  lord,  that 
you  will  defile  your  noble  English  breast  by  bearing  such 
an  emblem  !  Bethink  you  of  the  most  unhappy  Queen 
Mary's  days,  when  this  same  Philip  held  sway  with  her 
in  England,  and  of  the  piles  which  were  built  for  our  no- 
blest, and  our  wisest,  and  our  most  truly  sanctified  prelates 


82 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


and  divines — And  will  you,  whom  men  call  the  standard- 
bearer  of  the  true  Protestant  faith,  be  contented  to  wear 
the  emblem  and  mark  of  such  a  Romish  tyrant  as  he  of 
Spain?" 

"  O,  content  you,  my  love,"  answered  the  earl ;  "  we 
who  spread  our  sails  to  gales  of  court-favour,  cannot  al- 
ways display  the  ensigns  we  love  the  best,  or  at  all  times 
refuse  sailing  under  colours  which  we  like  not.  Believ^ 
me,  I  am  not  the  less  good  Protestant,  that  for  policy  F 
must  accept  the  honour  offered  me  by  Spain,  in  admit- 
ting me  to  this  his  highest  order  of  knighthood.  Besides, 
it  belongs  properly  to  Flanders  ;  and  Egmont,  Orange, 
and  others,  have  pride  in  seeing  it  displayed  on  an  Eng- 
lish bosom." 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  you  know  your  own  path  best,"  repli- 
ed the  countess. — "  And  this  other  collar,  to  what  coun- 
try does  this  fair  jewel  belong  ?" 

"  To  a  very  poor  one,  my  love,"  replied  the  earl ; 
this  is  the  Order  of  Saint  Andrew,  revived  by  the  last 
James  of  Scotland.  It  was  bestowed  on  me  when  it  was 
thought  the  young  widow  of  France  and  Scotland  would 
gladly  have  wedded  an  English  baron ;  but  a  free  coro- 
net of  England  is  worth  a  crown  matrimonial  held  at  the 
humour  of  a  woman,  and  owning  only  the  poor  rocks  and 
bogs  of  the  north." 

The  countess  paused,  as  if  what  he  last  said  had  ex- 
cited some  painful  but  interesting  train  of  thought ;  and, 
as  she  still  remained  silent,  the  earl  proceeded. 

"  And  now,  loveliest,  your  wish  is  gratified,  and  you 
have  seen  your  vassal  in  such  of  his  trim  array  as  accords 
with  riding  vestments  ;  for  robes  of  state  and  coronets  are 
only  for  princely  halls." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  countess,  "  my  gratified  wish 
has,  as  usual,  given  rise  to  a  new  one." 

"  And  what  is  it  thou  canst  ask  that  I  can  deny  ?"  said 
the  fond  husband. 

"  I  wished  to  see  my  earl  visit  this  obscure  and  secret 
bower,"  said  the  countess,  "  in  all  his  princely  array,  and 
now,  methinks,  I  long  to  sit  in  one  of  his  princely  halls, 


KENILWORTH. 


83 


and  see  him  enter  dressed  in  his  sober  russet,  as  when  he 
won  poor  Amy  Robsart's  heart." 

"  That  is  a  wish  easily  granted,"  said  the  earl — "  the 
sober  russet  shall  be  donned  to-morrow,  if  you  will." 

"  But  shall  I,"  said  the  lady,  "  go  with  you  to  one  of 
your  castles,  to  see  how  the  richness  of  your  dwelling  will 
correspond  with  your  peasant  habit." 

"  Why,  my  Amy,"  said  the  earl,  looking  around,  "  are 
ffot  these  apartments  decorated  with  sufficient  splendour  ? 
I  gave  the  most  unbounded  order,  and,  methinks,  it  has 
been  indifferently  well  obeyed — but  if  thou  canst  tell  me 
aught  which  remains  to  be  done,  I  will  instantly  give  di- 
rection." 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  now  you  mock  me,"  replied  the  coun- 
tess ;  "  the  gaiety  of  this  rich  lodging  exceeds  my  imagi- 
nation as  much  as  it  does  my  desert.  But  shall  not  your 
wife,  my  love — at  least  one  day  soon — be  surrounded 
with  the  honour  which  arises  neither  from  the  toils  of  the 
mechanic  who  decks  her  apartment,  nor  from  the  silks 
and  jewels  with  which  your  generosity  adorns  her,  but 
which  is  attached  to  her  place  among  the  matronage,  as 
the  avowed  wife  of  England's  noblest  earl  ?" 

"  One  day  ?"  said  her  husband, — "  Yes,  Amy,  my  love, 
one  day  this  shall  surely  happen  ;  and,  believe  me,  thou 
canst  not  wish  for  that  day  more  fondly  than  I.  With 
what  rapture  could  I  retire  from  labours  of  state,  and  cares 
and  toils  of  ambition,  to  spend  my  life  in  dignity  and  hon- 
our on  my  own  broad  domains,  with  thee,  my  lovely  Amy, 
for  my  friend  and  companion  !  But,  Amy,  this  cannot 
yet  be  ;  and  these  dear  but  stolen  interviews  are  all  I  can 
give  to  the  loveliest  and  the  best  beloved  of  her  sex." 

"  But  why  can  it  not  be  ?"  urged  the  countess,  in  the 
softest  tones  of  persuasion, — "  why  can  it  not  immedi- 
ately take  place — this  more  perfect,  this  uninterrupted 
union,  for  which  you  say  you  wish,  and  which  the  laws  of 
God  and  man  alike  command  ? — Ah  !  did  you  desire  it 
half  so  much  as  you  say,  mighty  and  favoured  as  you  are, 
who,  or  what,  should  bar  your  attaining  your  wish  ?" 

The  earl's  brow  was  overcast. 


84 


KENILWOKTH. 


"  Amy,"  he  said,  "  you  speak  of  what  you  under- 
stand not.  We  that  toil  in  courts  are  like  those  who 
climb  a  mountain  of  loose  sand— we  dare  make  no  halt 
until  some  projecting  rock  afford  us  a  secure  stance  and 
resting  place —  if  we  pause  sooner,  we  slide  down  by  our 
own  weight,  an  object  of  universal  derision.  I  stand  high, 
but  I  stand  not  secure  enough  to  follow  my  own  inclina- 
tion. To  declare  my  marriage,  were  to  be  the  artificer 
of  my  own  ruin.  But  believe  me,  I  will  reach  a  point, 
and  that  speedily,  when  I  can  do  justice  to  thee  and  to 
myself.  Meantime,  poison  not  the  bliss  of  the  present 
moment,  by  desiring  that  which  cannot  at  present  be. 
Let  me  rather  know  whether  all  here  is  managed  to  thy 
liking.  How  does  Foster  bear  himself  to  you  ? — in 
all  things  respectful  I  trust,  else  the  fellow  shall  dearly 
rue  it." 

"  He  reminds  me  sometimes  of  the  necessity  of  this 
privacy,"  answered  the  lady  with  a  sigh  ;  "  but  that  is 
reminding  me  of  your  wishes,  and  therefore,  I  am  rather 
bound  to  him  than  disposed  to  blame  him  for  it." 

"  I  have  told  you  the  stern  necessity  which  is  upon  us," 
replied  the  earl.  "  Foster  is,  I  note,  somewhat  sullen  of 
mood,  but  Varney  warrants  to  me  his  fidelity  and  devo- 
tion to  my  service.  If  thou  hast  aught,  however,  to  com- 
plain of  the  mode  in  which  he  discharges  his  duty,  he 
shall  abye  it." 

"  O,  I  have  nought  to  complain  of,"  answered  the 
lady,  "  so  he  discharges  his  task  with  fidelity  to  you  ; 
and  his  daughter  Janet  is  the  kindest  and  best  companion 
of  my  solitude — her  little  air  of  precision  sits  so  well  upon 
her." 

"  Is  she  indeed  ?"  said  the  earl ;  "  she  who  gives 
you  pleasure,  must  not  pass  unrewarded — Come  hither, 
damsel." 

"  Janet,"  said  the  lady,  "  come  hither  to  my  lord." 

Janet,  who,  as  we  already  noticed,  had  discreetly  re- 
tired to  some  distance,  that  her  presence  might  be  no 
check  upon  the  private  conversation  of  her  lord  and  lady, 
now  came  forward ;  and  as  she  made  her  reverential 


KENIIAVOUTH. 


85 


courtesy,  the  earl  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  contrast 
which  the  extreme  simplicity  of  her  dress,  and  the  prim 
demureness  of  her  looks  made,  with  a  very  pretty  coun- 
tenance and  a  pair  of  black  eyes,  that  laughed  in  spite  of 
their  mistress's  desire  to  look  grave. 

"  I  am  bound  to  you,  pretty  damsel,"  said  the  earl, 
"  for  the  contentment  which  your  service  hath  given  to 
this  lady."  As  he  said  this,  he  took  from  his  finger  a 
ring  of  some  price,  and  offered  it  to  Janet  Foster,  adding, 
"  Wear  this,  for  her  sake  and  for  mine." 

"  I  am  well  pleased,  my  lord,"  answered  Janet,  de- 
murely, "  that  my  poor  service  hath  gratified  my  lady, 
whom  no  one  can  draw  nigh  to  without  desiring  to  please  ; 
but  we  of  the  precious  Mr.  Holdforth's  congregation  seek 
not  like  the  gay  daughters  of  this  world,  to  twine  gold 
around  our  fingers,  or  to  wear  stones  upon  our  necks,  like 
the  vain  women  of  Tyre  and  of  Sidon." 

"  O,  what !  you  are  a  grave  professor  of  the  precise 
sisterhood,  pretty  Mrs.  Janet,"  said  the  earl,  "  and  I 
think  your  father  is  of  the  same  congregation  in  sinceri- 
ty. I  like  you  both  the  better  for  it ;  for  I  have  been 
prayed  for,  and  wished  well  to  in  your  congregations. 
And  you  may  the  better  afford  the  lack  of  ornament, 
Mrs.  Janet,  because  your  fingers  are  slender  and  your 
neck  white.  But  here  is  what  neither  papist  nor  puri- 
tan, latitudinarian  nor  precisian  ever  boggles  or  makes 
mouths  at.  E'en  take  it,  my  girl,  and  employ  it  as 
you  list." 

So  saying,  he  put  into  her  hand  five  broad  gold  pieces 
of  Philip  and  Mary. 

"  I  would  not  accept  this  gold  neither,"  said  Janet, 
"  but  that  I  hope  to  find  a  use  for  it  will  bring  a  blessing 
on  us  all." 

"  Even  please  thyself,  pretty  Janet,"  said  the  earl, 
"  and  I  will  be  well  satisfied — And  I  prithee  let  them 
hasten  the  evening  collation." 

"  I  have  bidden  Master  Varney  and  Master  Foster  to 
sup  with  us,  my  lord,"  said  the  countess,  as  JaneJ  retired 

8     VOL.  I. 


86 


KENIL  WORTH. 


to  obey  the  earl's'  commands,  "  has  it  your  approba- 
tion." 

"  What  you  do  ever  must  have  so,  my  sweet  Amy," 
replied  her  husband  ;  "  and  I  am  the  better  pleased  thou 
hast  done  them  this  grace,  because  Richard  Varney  is 
my  sworn  man,  and  a  close  brother  of  my  secret  coun- 
cil ;  and  for  the  present  I  must  needs  repose  much  trust 
in  this  Anthony  Foster." 

"  I  had  a  boon  to  beg  of  thee,  and  a  secret  to  tell  thee, 
my  dear  lord,"  said  the  countess  with  a  faltering  accent. 

"  Let  both  be  for  to-morrow,  my  love,"  replied  the  earl. 
"  I  see  they  open  the  folding-doors  into  the  banquetting 
parlour,  and  as  I  have  ridden  far  and  fast,  a  cup  of  wine 
will  not  be  unacceptable." 

So  saying,  he  led  his  lovely  wife  into  the  next  apart- 
ment, where  Varney  and  Foster  received  him  with  the 
deepest  reverences,  which  the  first  paid  after  the  fashion 
of  the  court,  and  the  second  after  that  of  the  congregation. 
The  earl  returned  their  salutation  with  the  negligent  cour- 
tesy of  one  long  used  to  such  homage  ;  while  the  coun- 
tess repaid  it  with  a  punctilious  solicitude,  which  showed 
it  was  not  quite  so  familiar  to  her. 

The  banquet  at  which  the  company  seated  themselves, 
corresponded  in  magnificence  with  the  splendour  of  the 
apartment  in  which  it  was  served  up,  but  no  domestic 
gave  his  attendance.  Janet  alone  stood  ready  to  wait 
upon  the  company  ;  and,  indeed,  the  board  was  so  well 
supplied  with  ail  that  could  be  desired,  that  little  or  no 
assistance  was  necessary.  The  earl  and  his  lady  occu- 
pied the  upper  end  of  the  table,  and  Varney  and  Foster 
sat  beneath  the  salt,  as  was  the  custom  with  inferiors. 
The  latter,  overawed  perhaps  by  society  to  which  he  was 
altogether  unused,  did  not  utter  a  single  syllable  during 
the  repast ;  while  Varney,  with  great  tact  and  discern- 
ment, sustained  just  so  much  of  the  conversation,  as  with- 
out the  appearance  of  intrusion  on  his  part,  prevented  it 
from  languishing,  and  maintained  the  good  humour  of  the 
earl  at  the  highest  pitch.  This  man  was  indeed  highly 
qualified  by  nature  to  discharge  the  part  in  which  he  found 


KENILWORTH. 


87 


himself  placed,  being  discreet  and  cautious  on  the  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other,  quick,  keen-witted,  and  imagina- 
tive ;  so  that  even  the  countess,  prejudiced  as  she  was 
against  him  on  many  accounts,  felt  and  enjoyed  his  pow- 
ers of  conversation,  and  was  more  disposed  than  she  had 
ever  hitherto  found  herself,  to  join  in  the  praises  which 
the  earl  lavished  on  his  favourite.  The  hour  of  rest  at 
length  arrived,  the  earl  and  countess  retired  to  their 
apartment,  and  all  was  silent  in  the  castle  for  the  rest  of 
the  night. 

Early  on  the  ensuing  morning,  Varney  acted  as  the 
earl's  chamberlain  as  well  as  his  master  of  horse,  though 
the  latter  was  his  proper  office  in  that  magnificent  house- 
hold, where  knights  and  gentlemen  of  good  descent  were 
well  contented  to  hold  such  menial  situations,  as  nobles 
themselves  held  in  that  of  the  sovereign.  The  duties  of 
each  of  these  charges  were  familiar  to  Varney,  who, 
sprung  from  an  ancient  but  somewhat  decayed  family, 
was  the  earl's  page  during  his  earlier  and  more  obscure 
fortunes,  and,  faithful  to  him  in  adversity,  had  afterwards 
contrived  to  render  himself  no  less  useful  to  him  in  his 
rapid  and  splendid  advance  to  fortune  ;  thus  establishing 
in  him  an  interest  resting  both  on  present  and  past  servi- 
ces, which  rendered  him  an  almost  indispensable  sharer 
of  his  confidence. 

"  Help  me  to  do  on  a  plainer  riding-suit,  Varney,"  said 
the  earl,  as  he  laid  aside  his  morning-gown,  flowered 
with  silk,  and  lined  with  sables,  "  and  put  these  chains 
and  fetters  there  (pointing  to  the  collars  of  the  various 
Orders  which  lay  on  the  table)  into  their  place  of  securi- 
ty— my  neck  last  night  was  well  nigh  broke  with  die 
weight  of  them.  I  am  half  resolved  they  shall  gall  me 
no  more.  They  are  bonds  which  knaves  have  invented 
to  fetter  fools.    How  think'st  thou,  Varney  ?" 

"Faith,  my  good  lord,"  said  his  attendant,  "  I  think 
fetters  of  gold  are  like  no  other  fetters — they  are  ever 
the  weightier  the  welcomer." 

"  For  all  that,  Varney,"  replied  his  master,  "  I  am 
half  resolved  they  shall  bind  me  to  the  court  no  longer. 


8S 


KENI1W0RTH. 


What  can  further  service  and  higher  favour  give  me,  be- 
yond the  high  rank  and  large  estate  which  I  have  already 
secured? — What  brought  my  father  to  the  block,  but 
that  he  could  not  bound  his  wishes  within  right  and  rea- 
son ? — I  have,  you  know,  had  mine  own  ventures  and  mine 
own  escapes ;  I  am  well  nigh  resolved  to  tempt  the  sea 
no  further,  but  sit  me  in  quiet  down  on  the  shore." 

"And  gather  cockle-shells,  with  Dan  Cupid  to  aid 
you,"  said  Varney. 

"  How  mean  you  by  that,  Varney  ?"  said  the  earl, 
somewhat  hastily. 

"  Nay,  my  lord,"  said  Varney,  "  be  not  angry  with 
me.  If  your  lordship  is  happy  in  a  lady  so  rarely  lovely, 
that  in  order  to  enjoy  her  company  with  somewhat  more 
freedom,  you  are  willing  to  part  with  all  that  you  have 
hitherto  lived  for,  some  of  your  poor  servants  may  be  suf- 
ferers ;  but  your  bounty  hath  placed  me  so  high,  that  I 
shall  ever  have  enough  to  maintain  a  poor  gentleman  in 
the  rank  befitting  the  high  office  he  has  held  in  your 
lordship's  family." 

"  Yet  you  seem  discontented  when  I  propose  throwing 
up  a  dangerous  game,  which  may  end  in  the  ruin  of  both 
of  us." 

"  I,  my  lord  ?"  said  Varney  ;  "  surely  I  have  no  cause 
to  regret  your  lordship's  retreat  ? — It  will  not  be  Richard 
Varney  who  will  incur  the  displeasure  of  majesty,  and  the 
ridicule  of  the  court,  when  the  stateliest  fabric  that  ever 
was  founded  upon  a  prince's  favour,  melts  away  like  a 
morning  frost-work. — I  would  only  have  you  yourself  be 
assured,  my  lord,  ere  you  take  a  step  which  cannot  be 
retracted,  that  you  consult  your  fame  and  happiness  in 
the  course  you  propose." 

"  Speak  on  then,  Varney,"  said  the  earl ;  "  I  tell  thee 
I  have  determined  nothing,  and  will  weigh  all  considera- 
tions on  either  side." 

"  Well  then,  my  lord,"  replied  Varney,  "  we  will  sup- 
pose the  step  taken,  the  frown  frowned,  the  laugh  laugh- 
ed, and  the  moan  moaned.  You  are  retired,  we  will  say, 
to  some  one  of  your  most  distant  castles,  so  far  from  court 


KENIIt  WORTH . 


89 


that  you  hear  neither  the  sorrow  of  your  friends,  nor  the 
glee  of  your  enemies.  We  will  suppose,  too,  that  your 
successful  rival  will  be  satisfied  (a  thing  greatly  to  be 
doubted)  with  abridging  and  cutting  away  the  branches 
of  the  great  tree,  which  so  long  kept  the  sun  from  him, 
and  that  he  does  not  insist  upon  tearing  you  up  by  the 
roots.  Well,  the  late  prime  favourite  of  England,  who 
wielded  her  general's  staff  and  controlled  her  parliaments, 
is  now  a  rural  baron,  hunting,  hawking,  drinking  fat  ale 
with  country  esquires,  and  mustering  his  men  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  High  Sheriff" — 

"  Varney,  forbear  !"  said  the  earl. 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  you  must  give  me  leave  to  conclude 
my  picture. — Sussex  governs  England — the  queen's 
health  fails — the  succession  is  to  be  settled — a  road  is 
opened  to  ambition  more  splendid  than  ambition  ever 
dreamed. — You  hear  all  this  as  you  sit  by  the  hob,  under 
the  shade  of  your  hall-chimney — You  then  begin  to  think 
what  hopes  you  have  fallen  from,  and  what  insignificance 
you  have  embraced — and  all  that  you  might  look  babies 
in  the  eyes  of  your  fair  wife  oftener  than  once  a  fort- 
night." 

"  I  say,  Varney,"  said  the  earl,  "  no  more  of  this.  I 
said  not  that  the  step  which  my  own  ease  and  comfort 
would  urge  me  to,  was  to  be  taken  hastily,  or  without  due 
consideration  to  the  public  safety.  Bear  witness  to  me, 
Varney,  I  subdue  my  wishes  of  retirement,  not  because 
1  am  moved  by  the  call  of  private  ambition,  but  that  I 
may  preserve  the  position  in  which  I  may  best  serve  my 
country  at  the  hour  of  need. — Order  our  horses  presently 
— I  will  wear,  as  formerly,  one  of  the  livery  cloaks,  and 
ride  before  the  portmantle. — Thou  shalt  be  master  for 
the  day,  Varney — neglect  nothing  that  can  blind  suspi- 
cion. We  will  to  horse  ere  men  are  stirring.  I  will  but 
take  leave  of  my  lady,  and  be  ready.  I  impose  a  re- 
straint on  my  own  poor  heart,  and  wound  one  yet  more 
dear  to  me  ;  but  the  patriot  must  subdue  the  husband." 

8*     VOL.  I. 


§0 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


Having  said  this  in  a  melancholy  but  firm  accent,  he 
left  the  dressing  apartment. 

"  I  am  glad  thou  art  gone,"  thought  Varney,  "  or; 
practised  as  I  am  in  the  follies  of  mankind,  I  had  laughed 
in  the  very  face  of  thee  !  Thou  mayst  tire  as  thou  wilt 
of  thy  new  bauble,  thy  pretty  piece  of  painted  Eve's 
flesh  there,  I  will  not  be  thy  hindrance.  But  of  thine 
old  bauble,  ambition,  thou  shalt  not  tire,  for  as  y:au.xlimb 
the  hill,  my  lord,  you  must  drag  Richard  Varney  up  with 
you  ;  and  if  he  can  urge  you  to  the  ascent  he  means  to 
profit  by,  believe  me  he  will  spare  neither  whip  nor  spur. 
— And  for  you,  my  pretty  lady,  that  would  be  countess 
outright,  you  were  best  not  thwart  my  courses  lest  you 
are  called  to  an  old  reckoning  on  a  new  score.  1  Thou 
shalt  be  master,'  did  he  say — By  my  faith,  he  may  find 
that  he  spoke  truer  than  he  is  aware  of — And  thus  he, 
who  in  the  estimation  of  so  many  wise-judging  men  can 
match  Burleigh  and  Walsingham  in  policy,  and  Sussex 
in  war,  becomes  pupil  to  his  own  menial ;  and  all  for  a 
hazel  eye  and  a  little  cunning  red  and  white,  and  so  falls 
Ambition.  And  yet  if  the  charms  of  mortal  woman 
could  excuse  a  man's  politic  pate  for  becoming  bewil- 
dered, my  lord  had  the  excuse  at  his  right  hand  on  this 
blessed  evening  that  has  last  passed  over  us.  Well — let 
things  roll  as  they  may,  he  shall  make  me  great,  or  I  will 
make  myself  happy  ;  and  for  that  softer  piece  of  creation, 
if  she  speak  not  out  her  interview  with  Tressilian,  as  well 
I  think  she  dare  not,  she  also  must  traffic  with  me  for 
concealment  and  mutual  support,  in  spite  of  all  this  scorn. 
— I  must  to  the  stables. —Well,  my  lord,  I  order  your 
retinue  now ;  the  time  may  soon  come  that  my  master  of 
the  horse  shall  order  mine  own." 

So  saying,  he  left  the .  apartment. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  earl  had  re-entered  the  bed-cham- 
ber, bent  on  taking  a  hasty  farewell  of  the  lovely  countess, 
and  scarce  daring  to  trust  himself  in  private  with  her,  to 
hear  requests  again  urged,  which  he  found  it  difficult  to 
parry,  yet  which  his  recent  conversation  with  his  master 
of  horse  had  determined  him  not  to  grant. 


KENILWOKTH. 


91 


He  found  her  in  a  white  cymar  of  silk  lined  with  furs, 
her  little  feet  unstocking'd  and  hastily  thrust  into  slippers  ; 
her  unbraided  hair  escaping  from  under  her  midnight 
coif,  with  little  array  but  her  own  loveliness,  rather  aug- 
mented than  diminished  by  the  grief  which  she  felt  at  the 
approaching  moment  of  separation. 

"  Now,  God  be  with  thee,  my  dearest  and  loveliest !" 
said  the  earl,  scarce  tearing  himself  from  her  embrace, 
yet  again  returning  to  fold  her  again  and  again  in  his 
arms,  and  again  bidding  farewell,  and  again  returning  to 
kiss  and  bid  adieu  once  more.  "  The  sun  is  on  the  verge 
of  the  blue  horizon — I  dare  not  stay. — Ere  this  I  should 
have  been  ten  miles  from  hence." 

Such  were  the  words,  with  which  at  length  he  strove 
to  cut  short  their  parting  interview. 

"  You  will  not  grant  my  request,  then,"  said  the  coun- 
tess. "  Ah,  false  knight !  did  ever  lady,  with  bare  foot 
in  slipper,  seek  boon  of  a  brave  knight,  yet  return  with 
denial  ?" 

"  Anything,  Amy,  anything  thou  canst  ask  I  will  grant," 
answered  the  earl — "  always  excepting,"  he  said,  "  that 
which  might  ruin  us  both." 

"  Nay,"  said  the  countess,  "  I  urge  not  my  wish  to 
be  acknowledged  in  the  character  which  would  make  me 
the  envy  of  England — as  the  wife,  that  is,  of  my  brave 
and  noble  lord,  the  first  as  the  most  fondly  beloved  of 
English  nobles. — Let  me  but  share  the  secret  with  my 
dear  father  ! — Let  me  but  end  his  misery  on  my  unwor- 
thy account — they  say  he  is  ill,  the  good  old  kind-hearted 
man." 

"  They  say  ?"  asked  the  earl,  hastily  ;  "  who  says  ? 
Did  not  Varney  convey  to  Sir  Hugh  all  we  dare  at 
present  tell  him  concerning  your  happiness  and  welfare  ? 
and  has  he  not  told  you  that  the  good  old  knight  was  fal- 
lowing, with  good  heart  and  health,  his  favourite  and 
wonted  exercise  !  Who  has  dared  to  put  other  thoughts 
into  your  head  ?" 

"  O,  no  one,  my  lord,  no  one,"  said  the  countess, 
something  alarmed  at  the  tone  in  which  the  question  was 


92 


KENIL  WORTH. 


put ;  "  but  yet,  my  lord,  I  would  fain  be  assured  with 
mine  own  eye-sight  that  my  father  is  well." 

"  Be  contented,  Amy — thou  canst  not  now  have  com- 
munication with  thy  father  or  his  house.  Were  it  not  a 
deep  course  of  policy  to  commit  no  secret  unnecessarily 
to  the  custody  of  more  than  must  needs  be,  it  were  suf- 
ficient reason  for  secrecy  that  yonder  Cornish  man,  yon- 
der Trevanion,  or  Tressilian,  or  whatsoever  his  name  is, 
haunts  the  old  knight's  house,  and  must  necessarily  know- 
whatever  is  communicated  there." 

"  My  lord,"  answered  the  countess,  "  I  do  not  think 
it  so.  My  father  has  been  long  noted  a  worthy  and  hon- 
ourable man ;  and  for  Tressilian,  if  we  can  pardon  our- 
selves the  ill  we  have  wrought  him,  I  will  wager  the  coro- 
net I  am  to  share  with  you  one  day,  that  he  is  incapable 
of  returning  injury  for  injury." 

"I  will  not  trust  him,  however,  Amy,"  said  her  hus- 
band ;  "  by  my  honour  I  would  not  trust  him — I  would 
rather  the  foul  fiend  intermingle  in  our  secret  than  this 
Tressilian  !" 

"  And  why,  my  lord  ?"  said  the  countess,  though  she 
shuddered  slightly  at  the  tone  of  determination  in  which 
he  spoke  ;  "  let  me  but  know  why  you  think  thus  hardly 
of  Tressilian  ?" 

"  Madam,"  replied  the  earl,  "  my  will  ought  to  be  a 
sufficient  reason — If  you  desire  more,  consider  how  this 
Tressilian  is  leagued,  and  with  whom — He  stands  high 
in  the  opinion  of  this  Radcliffe,  this  Sussex,  against  whom 
I  am  barely  able  to  maintain  my  ground  in  the  opinion  of 
our  suspicious  mistress ;  and  if  he  had  me  at  such  ad- 
vantage, Amy,  as  to  become  acquainted  with  the  tale  of 
our  marriage,  before  Elizabeth  were  fitly  prepared,  I 
were  an  outcast  from  her  grace  forever — a  bankrupt  at 
once  in  favour  and  in  fortune,  perhaps,  for  she  hath  in 
her  a  touch  of  her  father  Henry, — a  victim,  a  very  vic- 
tim, to  her  offended  and  jealous  resentment." 

"  But  why,  my  lord  ?"  again  replied  his  lady,  "  should 
you  deem  thus  injuriously  of  a  man,  of  whom  you  know 
so  little  ?  What  you  do  know  of  Tressilian  is  through  me. 


KENIIAVORTH. 


93 


and  it  is  I  who  assure  you  that  in  no  circumstances  will 
he  betray  your  secret.  If  I  did  him  wrong  in  your  be- 
half, my  lord,  I  am  now  the  more  concerned  you  should 
do  him  justice. — You  are  offended  at  my  speaking  of 
him,  what  would  you  say  had  I  actually  myself  seen 
him  ?" 

"  If  you  had,"  replied  the  earl,  "  you  would  do  well 
to  keep  that  interview  as  secret  as  that  which  is  spoken 
in  a  confessional.  I  seek  no  one's  ruin;  but  he  who 
thrusts  himself  on  my  secret  privacy,  were  better  look  well 
to  hir  future  walk.  The  bear  brooks  no  one  to  cross  his 
awful  path." 

"  Awful,  indeed  !"  said  the  countess  turning  very  pale. 

"  You  are  ill,  my  love,"  said  the  earl,  supporting  her 
in  his  arms ;  "  stretch  yourself  on  your  couch  again, 
it  is  but  early  day.  for  you  to  leave  it.  Have  you  aught 
else,  involving  less  than  my  fame,  my  fortune,  and  my 
life,  to  ask  of  me  ?" 

"  Nothing,  my  lord  and  love,"  answered  the  countess, 
faintly ;  "  something  there  wTas  that  I  would  have  told 
you,  but  your  anger  has  driven  it  from  my  recollection." 

"  Reserve  it  till  our  next  meeting,  my  love,"  said  the 
earl  fondly,  and  again  embracing  her  ;  "  and  barring  only 
those  requests  which  I  cannot  and  dare  not  grant,  thy 
wish  must  be  more  than  England  and  all  its  dependen- 
cies can  fulfil,  if  it  is  not  gratified  to  the  letter." 

Thus  saying  he  took  a  final  farewell.  At  the  bottom 
of  the  staircase  he  received  from  Varney  an  ample  livery 
cloak  and  slouched  hat  in  which  he  wrapped  himself  so 
as  to  disguise  his  person,  and  completely  conceal  his  fea- 
tures. Horses  were  ready  in  the  court-yard  for  himself 
and  Varney  ;  for  one  or  two  of  his  train,  entrusted  with 
the  secret  so  far  as  to  know  or  guess  that  the  earl  in- 
trigued with  a  beautiful  lady  at  that  mansion,  though  her 
name*  and  quality  were  unknown  to  them,  had  already 
been  dismissed  over  night. 

Anthony  Foster  himself  held  the  reins  of  the  earl's 
palfrey,  a  stout  and  able  nag  for  the  road ;  while  his  old 
serving-man  held  the  bridle  of  the  more  showy  and  gal- 


94 


KENIL  WORTH. 


lant  steed  which  Richard  Varney  was  to  occupy  in  the 
character  of  master. 

As  the  earl  approached,  however,  Varney  advanced  to 
hold  his  master's  bridle,  and  to  prevent  Foster  from  pay- 
ing that  duty  to  the  earl,  which  he  probably  considered  as 
belonging  to  his  own  office.  Foster  scowled  at  an  inter- 
ference which  seemed  intended  to  prevent  his  paying  his 
court  to  his  patron,  but  gave  place  to  Varney  ;  and  the  earl 
mounting  without  farther  observation,  and  forgetting  that 
his  assumed  character  of  a  domestic  threw  him  into  the 
rear  of  his  supposed  master,  rode  pensively  out  of  the 
quadrangle,  not  without  waving  his  hand  repeatedly  in 
answer  to  the  signals  which  were  made  by  the  countess 
with  her  kerchief,  from  the  windows  of  her  apartment. 

While  his  stately  form  vanished  under  the  dark  arch- 
way which  led  out  of  the  quadrangle,  Varney  muttered, 
"  There  goes  fine  policy — the  servant  before  the  mas- 
ter then  as  he  disappeared,  seized  the  moment  to  speak 
a  word  with  Foster.  "  Thou  look'st  dark  on  me,  An- 
thony," he  said,  "  as  if  I  had  deprived  thee  of  a  parting 
nod  of  my  lord ;  but  I  have  moved  him  to  leave  thee  a 
better  remembrance  for  thy  faithful  service.  See  here  ! 
a  purse  of  as  good  gold  as  ever  chinked  under  a  miser's 
thumb  and  forefinger.  Ay,  count  them,  lad,"  said  he, 
as  Foster  received  the  gold  with  a  grim  smile,  "  and  add 
to  them  the  goodly  remembrance  he  gave  last  night  to 
Janet." 

"  How's  this  !  how's  this  !"  said  Anthony  Foster,  has- 
tily ;  "  gave  he  gold  to  Janet  ?" 

"  Ay,  man,  wherefore  not? — does  not  her  service  to 
his  fair  lady  require  guerdon  ?" 

"  She  shall  have  none  on't,"  said  Foster ;  "  she  shall 
return  it.  I  know  his  dotage  on  one  face  is  as  brief  as  it 
is  deep.    His  affections  are  as  fickle  as  the  moon." 

"  Why,  Foster,  thou  art  mad — thou  dost  not  hope  for 
such  good  fortune,  as  that  my  lord  should  cast  an  eye  on 
Janet  ? — Who,  in  the  fiend's  name,  would  listen  to  the 
thrush  when  the  nightingale  is  singing  ?" 


KE  NIL  WORTH, 


95 


w  Thrush  or  nightingale,  all  is  one  to  the  fowler ;  and 
Master  Varney,  you  can  sound  the  quail-pipe  most  dain- 
tily to  wile  wantons  into  his  nets.  I  desire  no  such  devil's 
preferment  for  Janet  as  you  have  brought  many  a  poor 
maiden  to — Dost  thou  laugh  ?- — I  will  keep  one  limb  of 
my  family,  at  least,  from  Satan's  clutches,  that  thou  may'st 
rely  on — She  shall  restore  the  gold-" 

"  Ay,  or  give  it  to  thy  keeping,  Tony,  which  will  serve 
as  well,"  answered  Varney  ;  "  but  I  have  that  to  say 
which  is  more  serious. — Our  lord  is  returning  to  court  in 
an  evil  humour  for  us." 

"  How  meanest  thou  ?  Is  he  tired  already  of  his  pret- 
ty toy — his  plaything  yonder  ?  He  has  purchased  her  at 
a  monarch's  ransom,  and  I  warrant  me  he  rues  his  bar- 
gain." 

"  Not  a  whit,  Tony  ;  he  doats  on  her,  and  will  forsake 
the  court  for  her — then  down  go  hopes,  possessions,  and 
safety — church-lands  are  resumed,  Tony,  and  well  if  the 
holders  be  not  called  to  account  in  Exchequer." 

"  That  were  ruin,"  said  Foster,  his  brow  darkening 
with  apprehension  ;  "  and  all  this  for  a  woman  ? — Had  it 
been  for  his  soul's  sake,  it  were  something  ;  and  1  some- 
times wish  I  myself  could  fling  away  the  world  that  cleaves 
to  me,  and  be  as  one  of  the  poorest  of  our  church." 

"  Thou  art  like  enough  to  be  so,  Tony,"  answered 
Varney  ;  "  but  I  think  the  devil  will  give  thee  little  credit 
for  thy  compelled  poverty,  and  so  thou  losest  on  all  hands. 
But  follow  my  counsel,  and  Cumnor-Place  shall  be  thy 
copyhold  yet — Say  nothing  of  this  Tressilian's  visit — not 
a  word  until  I  give  thee  notice." 

"  And  wherefore,  I  pray  you  ?"  said  Foster  suspi- 
ciously. 

"  Dull  beast  ["replied  Varney  ;  "  in  my  lord's  present 
humour  it  were  the  ready  way  to  confirm  him  in  his  reso- 
lution of  retirement,  should  he  know  that  his  lady  was 
haunted  with  such  a  spectre  in  his  absence.  He  would 
be  for  playing  the  dragon  himself  over  his  golden  £  tiitj 
and  then,  Tony,  thy  occupation  is  ended.  A  word  to  the 
wise — Farewell — I  must  follow  him." 


9G 


KENILWORTH. 


He  turned  his  horse,  struck  him  with  the  spurs,  and 
rode  off  under  the  archway  in  pursuit  of  his  lord. 

"  Would  thy  occupation  were  ended,  or  thy  neck  brok- 
en, damned  pander  !"  said  Anthony  Foster.  "  But  I 
must  follow  his  beck,  for  his  interest  and  mine  are  the 
same,  and  he  can  wind  the  proud  earl  to  his  will.  Janet 
shall  give  me  these  pieces  though — they  shall  be  laid  out 
in  some  way  for  God's  service,  and  I  will  keep  them  sep- 
arate in  my  strong  chest,  till  I  can  fall  upon  a  fitting  em- 
ployment for  them.  No  contagious  vapour  shall  breathe 
on  Janet— she  shall  remain  pure  as  a  blessed  spirit,  were 
it  but  to  pray  God  for  her  father.  I  need  her  prayers, 
for  I  am  at  a  hard  pass — Strange  reports  are  abroad  con- 
cerning my  way  of  life.  The  congregation  look  cold  on 
me,  and  when  Master  Holdforth  spoke  of  hypocrites  be- 
ing like  a  whited  sepulchre,  which  within  was  full  of  dead 
men's  bones,  methought  he  looked  full  at  me.  The 
Romish  was  a  comfortable  faith  ;  Lambourne  spoke  true 
in  that.  A  man  had  but  to  follow  his  thrift  by  such  ways 
as  offered — tell  his  beads — hear  a  mass — confess,  and  be 
absolved.  These  puritans  tread  a  harder  and  a  rougher 
path  ;  but  I  will  try — I  will  read  my  Bible  for  an  hour, 
ere  I  again  open  mine*  iron  chest." 

Varney,  meantime,  spurred  after  his  lord,  whom  he 
found  waiting  for  him  at  the  postern-gate  of  the  park. 

"  You  waste  time,  Varney,"  said  the  earl  ;  "  and  it 
presses.  I  must  be  at  Woodstock  before  I  can  safely  lay 
aside  my  disguise  ;  and  till  then  I  journey  in  some  peril." 

"  It  is  but  two  hours  brisk  riding,  my  lord,"  said  Var- 
ney ;  "  for  me,  I  only  stopped  to  enforce  your  commands 
of  care  and  secrecy  on  yonder  Foster,  and  to  inquire 
about  the  abode  of  the  gentleman  whom  I  would  promote 
to  your  lordship's  train,  in  the  room  of  Trevors." 

"  Is  he  fit  for  the  meridian  of  the  anti-chamber,  think'st 
thou  ?"  said  the  earl. 

"  He  promises  well,  my  lord,"  replied  Varney  ;  "  but 
if  your  lordship  were  pleased  to  ride  on,  1  could  go  back 
to  Cumnor,  and  bring  him  to  your  lordship  at  Woodstock 
before  you  are  out  of  bed." 


KENILWORTH. 


97 


"  Why,  I  am  asleep  there,  thou  know'st,  at  this  mo- 
ment," said  the  earl  ;  "  and  I  pray  you  not  to  spare 
horse-flesh,  that  you  may  be  with  me  at  my  levee." 

So  saying,  he  gave  his  horse  the  spur,  and  proceeded 
on  his  journey,  while  Varney  rode  back  to  Cumnor  by 
the  public  road,  avoiding  the  park.  The  latter  alighted 
at  the  door  of  the  bonny  Black  Bear,  and  desired  to 
speak  with  Master  Michael  Lambourne.  That  respect- 
able character  was  not  long  of  appearing  before  his  new 
patron,  but  it  was  with  downcast  looks.  / 

"  Thou  hast  lost  the  scent,"  said  Varney,  "  of  thy  com- 
rade Tressilian. — I  know  it  by  thy  hang-dog  visage.  Is 
this  thy  alacrity,  thou  impudent  knave  ?" 

"  Cogswounds  !"  said  Lambourne,  "  there  was  never 
a  trail  so  finely  hunted.  I  saw  nim  to  earth  at  mine  un- 
cle's here — stuck  to  him  like  bees-wax — saw  him  at  sup- 
per— watched  him  to  his  chamber,  and  presto — he  is  gone 
next  mornings  the  very  hostler  knows  not  where." 

"  This  sounds  like  practice  upon  me,  sir,"  replied  Var- 
ney ;  "  and  if  it  prove  so,  by  my  soul  you  shall  repent  it." 

"  Sir,  the  best  hound  will  be  sometimes  at  fault,"  an- 
swered Lambourne  ;  "  how  should  it  serve  me  that  this 
fellow  should  have  thus  evanished  ?  You  may  ask  mine 
host,  Giles  Gosling — ask  the  tapster  and  hostler — ask 
Cicely,  and  the  whole  household,  how  I  kept  eyes  on 
Tressilian  while  he  was  on  foot — On  my  soul,  I  could  not 
be  expected  to  watch  him  like  a  sick  nurse,  when  I  had 
seen  him  fairly  a-bed  in  his  chamber.  That  will  be  al- 
lowed me,  surely." 

Varney  did,  in  fact,  make  some  inquiry  among  the 
household,  which  confirmed  the  truth  of  Lambourne's 
statement.  Tressilian,  it  wras  unanimously  agreed,  had 
departed  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  betwixt  night  and 
morning. 

"  But  I  will  wrong  no  one,"  said  mine  host ;  "  he  left 
on  the  table  in  his  lodging  the  full  value  of  his  reckoning, 
with  some  allowance  to  the  servants  of  the  house,  which 
9    vol.  I. 


98 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


was  the  less  necessary,  that  he  saddled  his  own  gelding, 
as  it  seems,  without  the-hostler's  assistance." 

Thus  satisfied  of  the  rectitude  of  Lambourne's  con- 
duct, Varney  began  to  talk  to  him  upon  his  future  pros- 
pects, and  the  mode  in  which  he  meant  to  besto\v  himself, 
intimating  that  he  understood  from  Foster,  he  was  not 
disinclined  to  enter  into  the  household  of  a  nobleman. 

"  Have  you,"  said  he,  "  ever  been  at  court  ?" 

"  No,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  but  ever  since  I  was 
ten  years  old,  I  have  dreamt  once  a-week  that  I  was  there, 
and  made  my  fortune." 

"  It  may  be  your  own  fault  if  your  dream  comes  not 
true,"  said  Varney  ;  "  are  you  needy  ?" 

"  Um  !"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  I  love  pleasure." 

"  That  is  a  sufficient  answer,  and  an  honest  one,"  said 
Varney.  "  Know  you  aught  of  the  requisites  expected 
from  the  retainer  of  a  rising  courtier  ?" 

"  I  have  imagined  them  to  myself,  sir,"  answered  Lam- 
bourne ;  "  as  for  example,  a  quick  eye — a  close  mouth 
— a  ready  and  bold  hand — a  sharp  wit,  and  a  blunt  con- 
science." 

"  And  thine,  I  suppose,"  said  Varney,  "  has  had  its 
edge  blunted  long  since." 

"  I  cannot  remember,  sir,  that  its  edge  was  ever  over 
keen,"  replied  Lambourne.  "  When  I  was  a  youth,  I  had 
some  few  whimsies,  but  I  ground  them  partly  out  of  my 
recollection  on  the  rough  grindstone  of  the  wars,  and  what 
remained,  I  washed  out  in  the  broad  waves  of  the  At- 
lantic." 

"  Thou  hast  served,  then,  in  the  Indies  ?" 

"  In  both  East  and  West,"  answered  the  candidate  for 
court-service,  "  by  both  sea  and  land  ;  I  have  served  both 
the  Portugal  and  the  Spaniard — both  the  Dutchman  and 
the  Frenchman,  and  have  made  war  on  our  own  account 
with  a  crew  of  jolly  fellows,  who  held  there  was  no  peace 
beyond  the  Line."/ 

i(  Thou  may'st  do  me,  and  my  lord,  and  thyself,  good 
service,"  said  Varney,  after  a  pause.    "  But  observe,  I 


KENILWORTH. 


99 


know  the  world — and,  answer  me  truly,  canst  thou  be 
faithful." 

"  Did  you  not  know  the*world,"  answered  Lambourne, 
«  it  were  my  duty  to  say  ay,  without  further  circumstance, 
and  to  swear  to  it  with  life  and  honour,  and  so  forth.; — 
But  as  it  seems  to  me  that  your  worship  is  one  who  de- 
sires rather  honest  truth  than  politic  falsehood — I  reply  to 
you,  that  I  can  be  faithful  to  the  gallows'  foot,  ay,  to  the 
loop  that  dangles  from  it,  if  I  am  well  used  and  well  re- 
compensed ; — not  otherwise." 

"  To  thy  other  virtues  thou  canst  add,  no  doubt,"  said 
Varney,  in  a  jeering  tone,  "  the  knack  of  seeming  seri- 
ous and  religious,  when  the  moment  demands  it  ?" 

"  It  would  cost  me  nothing,"  said  Lambourne,  "  to  say 
yes — but  to  speak  on  the  square,  I  must  needs  say  no. 
If  you  want  a  hypocrite,  you  may  take  Anthony  Foster, 
who,  from  his  childhood,  had  some  sort  of  phantom  haunt- 
ing him,  which  he  called  religion,  though  it  was  that  sort 
of  godliness  which  always  ended  in  being  great  gain. 
But  I  have  no  such  knack  of  it." 

"  Well,"  replied  Varney,  "  if  thou  hast  no  hypocrisy, 
hast  thou  not  a  nag  here  in  the  stable  ?" 

"  Ay,  sir,"  said  Lambourne,  "  that  shall  take  hedge 
and  ditch  with  my  Lord  Duke's  best  hunters.  When  I 
made  a  little  mistake  on  Shooter's  Hill,  and  stopped  an 
ancient  grazier,  whose  pouches  were  better  lined  than  his 
brain-pan,  the  bonny  bay  nag  carried  me  sheer  off,  in  spite 
of  the  whole  hue  and  cry." 

"  Saddle  him  then,  instantly,  and  attend  me,"  saicj 
Varney.  "  Leave  thy  clothes  and  baggage  under  charge 
of  mine  host,  and  I  will  conduct  thee  to  a  service,  in 
which,  if  thou  do  not  better  thyself,  the  fault  shall  not  be 
fortune's,  but  thine  own." 

"  Brave  and  hearty  !"  said  Lambourne,  "  and  I  am 
mounted  in  an  instant. — Knave,  hostler,  saddle  my  nag 
without  the  loss  of  one  instant,  as  thou  dost  value  the  safety 
of  thy  noddle. — Pretty  Cicely,  take  half  this  purse  to 
comfort  Xhee  for  my  sudden  departure." 


100 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  Gogsnouns  !"  replied  the  father,  "  Cicely  wants  no 
such  token  from  thee — Go  away,  Mike,  and  gather  grace 
if  thou  canst,  though  I  think  fliou  goest  not  to  the  land 
where  it  grows." 

"  Let  me  look  at  this  Cicely  of  thine,  mine  host,"  said 
Varney  ;  "  I  have  heard  much  talk  of  her  beauty." 

"  It  is  a  sun-burnt  beauty,"  said  mine  host,  "  well  qual- 
ified to  stand  out  rain  and  wind,  but  little  calculated  to 
please  such  critical  gallants  as  yourself.  She  keeps  her 
chamber  and  cannot  encounter  the  glance  of  such  sunny- 
day  courtiers,  my  noble  guest." 

"  Well,  peace  be  with  her,  my  good  host,"  answered 
Varney  ;  "  our  horses  are  impatient — we  bid  you  good 
day." 

"  Does  my  nephew  go  with  you,  so  please  you  ?"  said 
Gosling. 

"  Ay,  such  is  his  purpose,"  answered  Richard  Varney. 

"  You  are  right — fully  right,"  replied  mine  host — "  you 
are,  I  say,  fully  right,  my  kinsman.  Thou  hast  got  a  gay 
horse,  see  -thou  light  not  unaware  upon  a  halter — or  if 
thou  wilt  needs  be  made  immortal  by  means  of  a  rope, 
which  thy  purpose  of  following  this  gentleman  renders  not 
unlikely,  I  charge  thee  to  find  a  gallows  as  far  from  Cum- 
nor  as  thou  conveniently  may'st ;  and  sol  commend  you 
to  your  saddle." 

The  master  of  the  horse  and  his  new  retainer  took 
horse  accordingly,  leaving  the  landlord  to  conclude  his  ill- 
omened  farewell,  to  himself,  and  at  leisure  ;  and  set  off 
together  at  a  rapid  pace,  which  prevented  conversation 
until  the  ascent  of  a  steep  sandy  hill  permitted  them  to 
resume  it. 

"  You  are  contented  then,"  said  Varney,  to  his  com- 
panion, "  to  take  court-service  ?" 

"  Ay,  worshipful  sir,  if  you  like  my  terms  as  well  as  I 
like  your's." 

"  And  what  are  your  terms  ?"  demanded  Varney. 
"  If  I  am  to  have  a  quick  eye  for  patron's  interest,  he 
must  have  a  dull  one  towards  my  faults,"  said  Lambourne. 


KEJaiiWOUTH. 


101 


«  Ay,"  said  Varney,  "  so  they  lie  not  so  grossly  open 
that  he  must  needs  break  his  shins  over  them." 

"  Agreed,"  said  Lambourne.  "  Next,  if  I  run  down 
game,  I  must  have  the  picking  of  the  bones." 

"  That  is  but  reason,"  replied  Varney,  "  so  that  your 
betters  are  served  before  you." 

"  Good  !"  said  Lambourne  ;  44  and  it  only  remains  to 
be  said,  that  if  the  law  and  1  quarrel,  my  patron  must 
bear  me  out,  for  that  is  a  chief  point." 

"  Reason  again,"  said  Varney,  "  if  the  quarrel  hath 
happened  in  your  master's  service." 

"  For  the  wage  and  so  forth,  I  say  nothing,"  replied 
Lambourne  ;  "  it  is  the  secret  guerdon  that  I  must 
live  by." 

"  Never  fear,"  said  Varney  ;  "  thou  shalt  have  clothes 
and  spending-money  to  ruffle  it  with  the  best  of  thy  de- 
gree, for  thou  goest  to  a  household  where  you  have  gold, 
as  they  say,  by  the  eye." 

44  That  jumps  all  with  my  humour,"  replied  Michael 
Lambourne  ;  "  and  it  only  remains  that  you  tell  me  my 
master's  name." 

"  My  name  is  Master  Richard  Varney,"  answered  his 
companion. 

"  But  1  mean,"  said  Lambourne,  "  the  name  of  the 
noble  lord  to  whose  service  you  are  to  prefer  me." 

"  How,  knave,  art  thou  too  good  to  call  me  master  ?" 
said  Varney,  hastily  ;  "  I  would  have  thee  bold  to  others, 
but  not  saucy  with  me." 

"  I  crave  your  worship's  pardon,"  said  Lambourne  ; 
44  but  you  seemed  familiar  with  Anthony  Foster,  now  I 
am  familiar  with  Anthony  myself." 

44  Thou  art  a  shrewd  knave,  I  see,"  replied  Varney. 
44  Mark  me — I  do  indeed  propose  to  introduce  thee  into 
a  nobleman's  household  ;  but  it  is  upon  my  person  thou 
wilt  chiefly  wait,  and  upon  my  countenance  that  thou  wilt 
depend.  I  am  his  master  of  horse — Thou  wilt  soon  know 
his  name — it  is  one  that  shakes  the  council  and  wields 
the  state." 

9*     VOL.  I. 


102 


KENILWORTH. 


"  By  this  light,  a  brave  spell  to  conjure  with,"  said 
Lambourne,  "  if  a  man  would  find  hidden  treasures  !" 

"  Used  with  discretion,  it  may  prove  so,"  replied  Var- 
ney  ;  "  but  mark — if  thou  conjure  with  it  at  thine  own 
hand,  it  may  raise  a  devil  who  will  tear  thee  in  fragments." 

"  Enough  said,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  I  will  not  ex- 
ceed my  limits." 

The  travellers  then  resumed  the  rapid  rate  of  travel- 
ling, which  their  discourse  had  interrupted,  and  soon  ar- 
rived at  the  Royal  Park  of  Woodstock.  This  ancient 
possession  of  the  crown  of  England  was  then  very  differ- 
ent from  what  it  had  been  when  it  was  the  residence  of 
the  fair  Rosamond,  and  the  scene  of  Henry  the  Second's 
secret  and  illicit  amours  ;  and  yet  more  unlike  to  the 
scene  which  it  exhibits  in  the  present  day,  when  Blenheim- 
House  commemorates  the  victory  of  Marlborough,  and 
no  less  the  genius  of  Vanburgh,  though  decried  in  his  own 
time  by  men  of  taste  far  inferior  to  his  own.  It  was,  in 
Elizabeth's  time,  an  ancient  mansion  in  bad  repair,  which 
had  long  ceased  to  be  honoured  with  the  royal  residence, 
to  the  great  impoverishment  of  the  adjacent  village.  The 
inhabitants,  however,  had  made  several  petitions  to  the 
Queen  to  have  the  favour  of  the  sovereign's  countenance 
occasionally  bestowed  upon  them  ;  and  upon  this  very 
business,  ostensibly  at  least,  was  the  noble  lord,  whom 
we  have  already  introduced  to  our  readers,  a  visiter  at 
Woodstock. 

Varney  and  Lambourne  galloped  without  ceremony  in- 
to the  court-yard  of  the  ancient  and  dilapidated  mansion, 
which  presented  on  that  morning  a  scene  of  bustle  which 
it  had  not  exhibited  for  two  reigns.  Officers  of  the  earl's 
household,  livery-men  and  retainer's,  went  and  came  wiih 
all  the  insolent  fracas  which  attaches  to  their  profession. 
The  neigh  of  horses  and  the  baying  of  hounds  were  heard  ; 
for  my  lord,  in  his  occupation  of  inspecting  and  surveying 
the  manor  and  demesne,  was,  of  course,  provided  with 
the  means  of  following  his  pleasure  in  the  chase  or  park, 
said  to  have  been  the  earliest  that  was  enclosed  in  Eng- 
land, and  which  was  well  stocked  with  deer  whjch  had 


KENIIiWORTH. 


103 


long  roamed  there  unmolested.  Several  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  village,  in  anxious  hope  of  a  favourable  re- 
sult from  this  unwonted  visit,  loitered  about  the  court- 
yard, and  awaited  the  great  man's  coming  forth.  Their 
attention  was  excited  by  the  hasty  arrival  of  Varney,  and 
a  murmur  ran  amongst  them,  "  The  earl's  master  of  the 
horse  !"  while  they  hastened  to  bespeak  favour  by  hastily 
unbonneting,  and  proffering  to  hold  the  bridle  and  stirrup 
of  the  favoured  retainer  and  his  attendant. 

"  Stand  somewhat  aloof,  my  masters  !"  said  Varney, 
haughtily,  "  and  let  the  domestics  do  their  office." 

The  mortified  peasants  fell  back  at  the  signal  ;  while 
Lambourne,  who  had  his  eye  upon  his  superior's  deport- 
ment, repelled  the  services  of  those  who  offered  to  assist 
him,  with  yet  more  discourtesy — "  Stand  back,  Jack 
peasant,  with  a  murrain  to  you,  and  let  these  knave  foot- 
men do  their  duty  !" 

While  they  gave  their  nags  to  the  attendants  of  the 
household,  and  walked  into  the  mansion  with  an  air  of  su- 
periority which  long  practice  and  consciousness  of  birth 
rendered  natural  to  Varney,  and  which  Lambourne  en- 
deavoured to  imitate  as  well  as  he  could,  the  poor  inhab- 
itants of  Woodstock  whispered  to  each  other,  "  Well-a- 
day — God  save  us  from  all  such  misproud  princoxes  ! 
An  the  master  be  like  the  men,  why  the  fiend  may  take 
all,  and  yet  have  no  more  than  his  due." 

"  Silence,  good  neighbours  !"  said  the  Bailiff,  "  keep 
tongue  betwixt  teeth — we  shall  know  more  by  and  bye. — 
But  never  will  a  lord  come  to  Woodstock  so  welcome  as 
bluff  old  King  Harry  !  He  would  horsewhip  a  fellow  one 
day  with  his  own  royal  hand,  and  then  fling  him  an  hand- 
ful of  silver  groats,  with  his  own  broad  face  on  them,  to 
'noint  the  sore  withal." 

"  Ay,  rest  be  with  him  !"  echoed  the  auditors  ;  "  it 
will  be  long  ere  this  Lady  Elizabeth  horsewhip  any  of  us." 

"  There  is  no  saying,"  answered  the  Bailiff.  "  Mean- 
while, patience,  good  neighbours,  and  let  us  comfort  our- 
selves by  thinking  that  we  deserve  such  notice  at  her 
grace's  hands." 


104 


KENIL  WORTH. 


Meanwhile,  Varney,  closely  followed  by  his  new  de- 
pendant, made  his  way  to  the  hall,  where  men  of  more 
note  and  consequence  than  those  left  in  the  court-yard 
awaited  the  appearance  of  the  earl,  who  as  yet  kept  his 
chamber.  All  paid  court  to  Varney,  with  more  or  less 
deference,  as  suited  their  own  rank,  or  the  urgency  of  the 
business  which  brought  them  to  his  lord's  levee.  To  the 
general  question  of,  "  When  comes  my  lord  forth,  Master 
Varney  ?"  he  gave  brief  answers,  as,  "  See  you  not  my 
boots  ?  L  am  but  just  returned  from  Oxford,  and  know 
nothing  of  it,"  and  the  like,  until  the  same  query  was  put 
in  a  higher  tone  by  a  personage  of  more  importance.  "  I 
will  inquire  at  the  chamberlain,  Sir  Thomas  Copely," 
was  the  reply.  The  chamberlain,  distinguished  by  his 
silver  key,  answered,  that  the  earl  only  awaited  Master 
Varney's  return  to  come  down,  but  that  he  would  first 
speak  with  him  in  his  private  chamber.  Varney,  there- 
fore, bowed  to  the  company,  and  took  leave,  to  enter  his 
lord's  apartment. 

There  was  a  murmur  of  expectation  which  lasted  a 
few  minutes,  and  was  at  length  hushed  by  the  opening  of 
the  folding-doors  at  the  upper  end  of  the  apartment, 
through  which  the  earl  made  his  entrance,  marshalled  by 
his  chamberlain  and  the  steward  of  his  family,  and  follow- 
ed by  Richard  Varney.  In  his  noble  mein  and  princely 
features,  men  read  nothing  of  that  insolence  which  was 
practised  by  his  dependants.  His  courtesies  were  indeed 
measured  by  the  rank  of  those  to  whom  they  were  ad- 
dressed, but  even  the  meanest  person  present  had  a  share 
of  his  gracious  notice.  The  inquiries  which  he  made 
respecting  the  condition  of  the  manor,  of  the  queen's 
rights  there,  and  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages 
which  might  attend  her  occasional  residence  at  the  royal 
seat  of  Woodstock,  seemed  to  show  that  he  had  most 
earnestly  investigated  the  matter  of  the  petition  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  with  a  desire  to  forward  the  interest  of 
the  place. 

"  Now  the  Lord  love  his  noble  countenance,"  said  the 
Bailiff,  who  had  thrust  himself  into  the  presence-cham- 


KE  N  IIi  W  OUT  If . 


105 


her  ;  "  he  looks  somewhat  pale.  I  warrant  him  he  hath 
spent  the  whole  night  in  perusing  our  memorial.  Master 
Toughyarn,  who  took  six  months  to  draw  it  up,  said  it 
would  take  a  week  to  understand  it  ;  and  see  if  the  earl 
hath  not  knocked  the  marrow  out  of  it  in  twenty-four 
hours  !" 

The  earl  then  acquainted  them  that  he  should  move 
their  sovereign  to  honour  Woodstock  occasionally  with  her 
residence  during  her  royal  progresses,  that  the  town  and 
its  vicinity  might  derive,  from  her  countenance  and  favour, 
the  same  advantages  as  from  those  of  her  predecessors. 
Meanwhile,  he  rejoiced  to  be  the  expounder  of  her  gra- 
cious pleasure,  in  assuring  them  that,  for  the  increase  of 
trade  and  encouragement  of  the  worthy  burgesses  of 
Woodstock,  her  majesty  was  minded  to  erect  the  town 
into  a  staple  for  wool. 

This  joyful  intelligence  was  received  with  the  accla- 
mations not  only  of  the  better  sort  who  were  admitted  to 
the  audience-chamber,  but  of  the  commons  who  waited 
without. 

The  freedom  of  the  corporation  was  presented  to  the 
earl  upon  knee  by  the  magistrates  of  the  place,  together 
with  a  purse  of  gold  pieces,  which  the  earl  handed  to 
Varney,  who,  on  his  part,  gave  a  share  to  Lambourne,  as 
the  most  acceptable  earnest  of  r/s  new  service. 

The  earl  and  his  retinue  took  horse  soon  after,  to  re- 
turn to  court,  accompanied,  by  the  shouts  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Woodstock,  who  made  the  old  oaks  ring  with 
jre-echoing,  "  Long  live  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  noble 
Earl  of  Leicester  !"  The  urbanity  and  courtesy  of  the 
earl  even  threw  a  gleam  of  popularity  over  his  attendants, 
as  their  haughty  deportment  had  formerly  obscured  that 
of  their  master  ;  and  men  shouted,  "  Long  life  to  the 
Earl,  and  to  his  gallant  followers  !"  as  Varney  and  Lam- 
bourne, each  in  his  rank,  rode  proudly  through  the  streets 
of  Woodstock. 


106 


KENIl  WORTH. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Host.  I  will  hear  you,  Master  Fenton  ; 
And  I  will,  at  least,  keep  your  counsel. 

Merrij  Wives  of  Windsor, 

It  becomes  necessary  to  return  to  the  detail  of  those 
circumstances  which  accompanied,  and  indeed  occasion- 
ed, the  sudden  disappearance  of  Tressilian  from  the  sign 
of  the  Black  Bear  at  Cumnor.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  this  gentleman,  after  his  rencounter  with  Varney  had 
returned  to  Giles  Gosling's  caravansary,  where  he  shut 
himself  up  in  his  own  chamber,  demanded  pen,  ink,  and 
paper,  and  announced  his  purpose  to  remain  private  for 
the  day  ;  in  the  evening  he  appeared  again  in  the  public 
room,  where  Michael  Lambourne,  who  had  been  on  the 
watch  for  him,  agreeably  to  his  engagement  to  his  old 
friend  and  associate  Foster,  endeavoured  to  renew  his 
acquaintance  with  him,  and  hoped  he  retained  no  un- 
friendly recollection  of  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the 
morning's  scuffle. 

But  Tressilian  rep  led  his  advances  firmly,  though 
with  civility — "  Master  Lambourne,"  said  he,  "  I  trust  I 
have  recompensed  to  your  pleasure  the  time  you  have 
wasted  on  me.  Under  the  show  of  wild  bluntness  which 
you  exhibit,  I  know  you  have  sense  enough  to  understand 
me,  when  I  say  frankly,  that  the  object  of  our  temporary 
acquaintance  having  been  accomplished,  we  must  be  stran- 
gers to  each  other  in  future." 

"  Voto  /"  said  Lambourne,  twirling  his  whiskers  with 
one  hand,  and  grasping  the  hilt  of  his  weapon  with  the 
other  ;  "  if  I  thought  that  this  usage  was  meant  to  insult 
me"  

"  You  would  bear  it  with  discretion,  doubtless,"  repli- 
ed Tressilian,  "  as  you  must  do  at  any  rate.    You  know 


KENILW0.RTI1. 


107 


too  well  the  distance  that  is  betwixt  us,  to  require  me  to 
explain  myself  further — Good  evening." 

So  saying,  he  turned  his  back  upon  his  former  compan- 
ion, and  entered  into  discourse  with  the  landlord.  Mich- 
ael Lambourne  felt  strongly  disposed  to  bully  ;  but  his 
wrath  died  away  in  a  few  incoherent  oaths  and  ejacula- 
tions, and  he  sank  unresistingly  under  the  ascendency 
which  superior  spirits  possess  over  persons  of  his  habits 
and  description.  He  remained  moody  and  silent  in  a 
corner  of  the  apartment,  paying  the  most  marked  atten- 
tion to  every  motion  of  his  late  companion,  against  whom 
he  began  now  to  nourish  a  quarrel  on  his  own  account, 
which  he  trusted  to  avenge  by  the  execution  of  Varney's 
directions.  The  hour  of  supper  arrived,  and  was.  follow- 
ed by  that  of  repose,  when  Tressilian,  like  others,  retired 
to  his  sleeping  apartment. 

He  had  not  been  in  bed  long,  when  the  train  of  sad 
reveries,  which  supplied  the  place  of  rest  in  his  disturbed 
mind,  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  jar  of  a  door  on  its 
hinges,  and  a  light  was  seen  to  glimmer  in  the  apartment. 
Tressilian,  who  was  as  brave  as  steel,  sprang  from  his  bed 
at  this  alarm,  and  had  laid  hand  upon  his  sword,  when ' 
he  was  prevented  from  drawing  it  by  a  voice  which  said, 
"  Be  not  too  rash  with  your  rapier,  Master  Tressilian — 
It  is  I,  your  host  Giles  Gosling." 

At  the  same  time,  unshrouding  the  dark  lantern,  which 
had  hitherto  only  emitted  an  indistinct  glimmer,  the  good- 
ly aspect  and  figure  of  the  landlord  of  the  Black  Bear 
was  visibly  presented  to  his  astonished  guest. 

"  What  mummery  is  this,  mine  host  ?"  said  Tressilian  ; 
"  have  you  supped  as  jollily  as  last  night,  and  so  mista- 
ken your  chamber  ?  or  is  midnight  a  time  for  masquerad- 
ing it  in  your  guest's  lodging  ?" 

"  Maste^Tressilian,"  replied  mine  host,  "  I  know  my 
place  and  'my  time  as  well  as  e'er  a  merry  landlord  in 
England.  But  here  has  been  my  hang-dog  kinsman 
watching  you  as  close  as  ever  cat  watched  a  mouse  ;  and 
here  have  you,  on  the  other  hand,  quarrelled  and  fought. 


10S  KENILWORTH. 

either  with  him  or  with  some  other  person,  and  I  fear  that 
danger  will  come  of  it." 

"'Go  to,  thou  art  but  a  fool,  man,"  said  Tressilian  ; 
"  thy  kinsman  is  beneath  my  resentment  ;  and  besides, 
why  should'st  thou  think  I  had  quarrelled  with  any  one 
whomsoever  ?" 

"  Oh  !  sir,"  replied  the  innkeeper,  "  there  was  a  red 
spot  on  thy  very  cheek-bone,  which  boded  of  a  late  brawl, 
as  sure  as  the  conjunction  of  Mars  and  Saturn  threatens 
misfortune — and  when  you  returned,  the  buckles  of  your 
girdle  were  brought  forward,  and  your  step  was  quick 
and  hasty,  and  all  things  showed  your  hand  and  your  hilt 
had  been  lately  acquainted." 

"  Well,  good  mine  host,  if  I  have  been  obliged  to  draw 
my  sword,"  said  Tressilian,  "  why  should  such  a  circum- 
stance fetch  thee  out  of  thy  warm  bed  at  this  time  of 
night  ?    Thou  seest  the  mischief  is  all  over." 

"  Under  favour,  that  is  what  I  doubt.  Anthony  Foster 
is  a  dangerous  man,  defended  by  strong  court  patronage, 
which  hath  borne  -him  out  in  matters  of  very  deep  con- 
cernment. And  then,  my  kinsman — why,  I  have  told 
'you  what  he  is,  and  if  these  two  old  cronies  have  made 
up  their  old  acquaintance,  I  would  not,  my  worshipful 
guest,  that  it  should  be  at  thy  cost.  I  promise  you,  Mike 
Lambourne  has  been  making  very  particular  inquiries  at 
mine  hostler,  when  and  which  way  you  ride.  Now,  I 
would  have  you  think,  whether  you  may  not  have  done 
or  said  something  for  which  you  may  be  way-laid,  and 
taken  at  disadvantage." 

"  Thou  art  an  honest  man,  mine  host,"  said  Tressilian, 
after  a  moment's  consideration,  "  and  I  will  deal  frankly 
with  thee.  If  these  men's  malice  is  directed  against  me 
— as  I  deny  not  but  it  may— it  is  because  they  are  the 
agents  of  a  more  powerful  yillain  than  themsjlves." 

"  You  mean  Master  Richard  Varney,  do  you  not  ?" 
said  the  landlord  ;  "  he  was  at  Cumnor -Place  yesterday, 
and  came  not  thither  so  private  but  what  he  was  espied 
by  one  who  told  me." 

"  I  mean  the  same,  mine  host." 


KENILWORTH. 


109 


"  Then,  for  God's  sake,  worshipful  Master  Tressilian," 
said  honest  Gosling,  "  look  well  to  yourself.  This  Var- 
ney  is  the  protector  and  patron  of  Anthony  Foster,  who 
holds  under  him,  and  by  his  favour,  some  lease  of  yonder 
mansion  and  the  park.  Varney  got  a  large  grant  of  the 
lands  of  the  Abbacy  of  Abingdon,  and  Cumnor-Place 
amongst  others,  from  his  master,  the  Earl  of  Leicester. 
Men  say  he  can  do  every  thing  with  him,  though  I  hold 
the  earl  too  good  a  nobleman  to  employ  him  as  some  men 
talk  of. — And  then  the  earl  can  do  anything  (that  is  any- 
thing right  or  fitting)  with  the  Queen,  God  bless  her  ;  so 
you  see  what  an  enemy  you  have  made  yourself." 

"  Well — it  is  done,  and  I  cannot  help  it,"  answered 
Tressilian. 

"  Uds  precious,  but  it  must  be  helped  in  some  man- 
ner !"  said  the  host.  "  Richard  Varney — why,  what 
between  his  influence  with  my  lord,  and  his  pretending  to 
so  many  old  and  vexatious  claims  in  right  of  the  Abbot 
here,  men  fear  almost  to  mention  his  name,  much  more 
to  set  themselves  against  his  practices.  You  may  judge 
by  our  discourses  the  last  night.  Men  said  their  pleasure 
of  Tony  Foster,  but  not  a  word  of  Richard  Varney,  though 
all  men  judge  him  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  yonder  mystery 
about  the  pretty  wench.  But  perhaps  you  know  more  of 
that  matter  than  I  do,  for  women,  though  they  wear  not 
swords,  are  occasion  for  many  a  blade's  exchanging  a 
sheath  of  neat's  leather  for  one  of  flesh  and  blood." 

"  I  do  indeed  know  more  of  that  poor  unfortunate  lady 
than  thou  doest,  my  friendly  host ;  and  so  bankrupt  am  I, 
at  this  moment,  of  friends  and  advice,  that  I  will  willing- 
ly make  a  counsellor  of  thee,  and  tell  thee  the  whole  his- 
tory, the  rather  that  I  have  a  favour  to  ask  when  my  tale 
is  ended.'' 

"  Good  Master  Tressilian,"  said  the  landlord,  "  I  am 
but  a  poor  innkeeper,  little  able  to  adjust  or  counsel  such 
a  guest  as  yourself.  But,  as  sure  as  I  have  risen  decent- 
ly above  the  world,  by  giving  good  measure  and  reasona- 
ble charges,  I  am  an  honest  man  ;  and  as  such,  if  I  may 

10     VOL.  I. 


110 


KENILWORTH. 


not  be  able  to  assist  you,  I  am  not,  at  least,  capable  to 
abuse  your  confidence.  Say  away,  therefore,  as  confi- 
dently as  if  you  spoke  to  your  father  ;  and  thus  far  at 
least  be  certain,  that  my  curiosity,  for  I  will  not  deny  that 
which  belongs  to  my  calling,  is  joined  to  a  reasonable  de- 
gree of  discretion." 

"  I  doubt  it  not,  mine  host,"  answered  Tressilian  ;  and 
while  his  auditor  remained  in  anxious  expectation,  he 
meditated  for  an  instant  how  he  should  commence  his 
narrative.  "  My  tale,"  he  at  length  said,  "  to  be  quite 
intelligible,  must  begin  at  some  distance  back. — You  have 
heard  of  the  battle  of  Stoke,  my  good  host,  and  perhaps 
of  old  Sir  Roger  Robsart,  who,  in  that  battle,  valiantly 
took  part  with  Henry  VII.,  the  Queen's  grandfather,  and 
routed  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  Lord  Geraldin  and  his  wild 
Irish,  and  the  Flemings,  whom  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy 
had  sent  over,  in  the  quarrel  of  Lambert  Simnel  ?" 

"  I  remember  both  one  and  the  other,"  said  Giles  Gos- 
ling, "  it  is  sung  of  a  dozen  times  a-week  on  my  ale- 
bench  below. — Sir  Roger  Robsart  of  Devon — O,  ay, — 
'tis  him  of  whom  minstrels  sing  to  this  hour, — 

1  He  was  the  flower  of  Stoke's  red  field, 
When  Martin  Swart  on  ground  lay  slain  ; 
In  raging  rout  he  never  reePd, 
But  like  a  rock  did  firm  remain.' 

Ay,  and  then  there  was  Martin  Swart  I  have  heard  my 
grandfather  talk  of,  and  of  the  Jolly  Almains  whom  he 
commanded,  with  their  slashed  doublets  and  quaint  hose, 
all  frounced  with  ribands  above  the  nether  stocks.  Here's 
a  song  goes  of  Martin  Swart,  too,  an  I  had  but  memory 
for  it  : — 

1  Martin  Swart  and  his  men, 

Saddle  them,  saddle  them, 
Martin  Swart  and  his  men, 

Saddle  them  well.'  " 

"  True,  good  mine  host — the  day  was  long  talked  of ; 
but  if  you  sing  so  loud,  you  will  awake  more  listeners  than 
I  care  to  commit  my  confidence  unto." 


KENIIiWORTH. 


Ill 


"  I  crave  pardon,  my  worshipful  guest,"  said  mine 
host,  "  I  was  oblivious.  When  an  old  song  comes  across 
us  merry  old  knights  of  the  spiggot,  it  runs  away  with 
discretion." 

«  Well,  mine  host,  my  grandfather,  like  some  other 
Cornish-men,  kept  a  warm  affection  to  the  house  of  York, 
and  espoused  the  quarrel  of  this  Simnel,  assuming  the 
title  of  Earl  of  Warwick,  as  the  county  afterwards,  in 
great  numbers,  countenanced  the  cause  of  Perkin  War- 
beck,  calling  himself  the  Duke  of  York.  My  grandsire 
joined  SimnePs  standard,  and  was  taken  fighting  desper- 
ately at  Stoke,  where  most  of  the  leaders  of  that  unhappy 
army  were  slain  in  their  harness.  The  good  knight,  to 
whom  he  rendered  himself,  Sir  Roger  Robsart,  protect- 
ed him  from  the  immediate  vengeance  of  the  King,  and 
dismissed  him  without  ransom.  But  he  was  unable  to 
guard  him  from  other  penalties  of  his  rashness,  being  the 
heavy  fines  by  which  he  was  impoverished,  according  to 
Henry's  mode  of  weakening  his  enemies.  The  good 
knight  did  what  he  might  to  mitigate  the  distresses  of  my 
ancestor ;  and  their  friendship  became  so  strict,  that  my 
father  was  bred  up  as  the  sworn  brother  and  intimate  of 
the  present  Sir  Hugh  Robsart,  the  only  son  of  Sir  Roger, 
and  the  heir  of  his  honest,  and  generous,  and  hospitable 
temper,  though  not  equal  to  him  in  martial  achievements." 

"  I  have  heard  of  good  Sir  Hugh  Robsart,"  interrupted 
the  host,  "  many  a  time  and  oft.  His  huntsman  and  sworn 
servant,  Will  Badger,  hath  spoke  of  him  an  hundred  times 
in  this  very  house — a  jovial  knight  he  is,  and  hath  loved 
hospitality  and  open  house-keeping  more  than  the  present 
fashion,  which  lays  as  much  gold-lace  on  the  seams  of  a 
doublet  as  would  feed  a  dozen  of  tall  fellows  with  beef  and 
ale  for  a  twelvemonth,  and  let  them  have  their  evening  at 
the  ale-house  once  a-week  to  do  good  to  the  publican." 

"  If  you  have  seen  Will  Badger,  mine  host,"  said  Tres- 
silian,  "  you  have  heard  enough  of  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  ; 
and,  therefore,  I  will  but  say  that  the  hospitality  you  boast 
of  hath  proved  somewhat  detrimental  to  the  estate  of  his 
family,  which  is  perhaps  of  the  less  consequence,  as  he 


112 


KENILAVOUTH. 


has  but  one  daughter  to  whom  to  bequeath  it.  And  here 
begins  my  share  in  the  tale.  Upon  my  father's  death, 
now  several  years  since,  the  good  Sir  Hugh  would  wil- 
lingly have  made  me  his  constant  companion.  There  was 
a  time,  however,  at  which  I  felt  the  kind  knight's  exces- 
sive love  for  field-sports  detained  me  from  studies,  by 
which  I  might  have  profited  more  ;  but  I  ceased  to  regret 
the  leisure  which  gratitude  and  hereditary  friendship  com- 
pelled me  to  bestow  on  these  rural  avocations.  The  ex- 
quisite beauty  of  Mistress  Amy  Robsart,  as  she  grew  up 
from  childhood  to  woman,  could  not  escape  one  whom 
circumstances  obliged  to  be  so  constantly  in  her  company 
— I  loved  her,  in  short,  my  host,  and  her  father  saw  it." 

"  And  crossed  your  true  loves,  no  doubt  ?"  said  mine 
host  ;  "  it  is  the  way  in  all  such  cases,  and  I  judge  it 
must  have  been  so  in  your  instance,  from  the  heavy  sigh 
you  uttered  even  now." 

"  The  cause  was  different,  mine  host.  My  suit  was 
highly  approved  by  the  generous  Sir  Hugh  Robsart — it 
was  his  daughter  who  was  cold  to  my  passion." 

"  She  was  the  more  dangerous  enemy  of  the  two,"  said 
the  innkeeper.    "  I  fear  your  suit  proved  a  cold  one." 

"  She  yielded  me  her  esteem,"  said  Tressilian,  "  and 
seemed  not  unwilling  that  I  should  hope  it  might  ripen  into 
a  warmer  passion.  There  was  a  contract  of  future  mar- 
riage executed  betwixt  us,  upon  her  father's  intercession  ; 
but  to  comply  with  her  anxious  request,  the  execution  was 
deferred  for  a  twelvemonth.  During  this  period,  Richard 
Varney  appeared  in  the  country,  and,  availing  himself  of 
some  distant  family  connexion  with  Sir  Hugh  Robsart, 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  his  company,  until,  at  length, 
he  almost  lived  in  the  family." 

"  That  could  bode  no  good  to  the  place  he  honoured 
with  his  residence,"  said  Gosling. 

"  No,  by  the  rood  !"  replied  Tressilian.  "  Misunder- 
standing and  misery  followed  his  presence,  yet  so  strange- 
ly, that  I  am  at  this  moment  at  a  loss  to  trace  the  grada- 
tions of  their  encroachment  upon  a  family,  which  had, 
till  then,  been  so  happy.    For  a  time  Amy  Robsart  re- 


KENILWORTH. 


113 


ceived  the  attentions  of  this  man  Varney  with  the  indif- 
ference attached  to  common  courtesies  ;  then  followed  a 
period  in  which  she  seemed  to  regard  him  with  dislike, 
and  even  with  disgust ;  and  then  an  extraordinary  species 
of  connection  appeared  to  grow  up  betwixt  them.  Var- 
ney dropped  those  airs  of  pretension  and  gallantry,  which 
had  marked  his  former  approaches  ;  and  Amy,  on  the 
other  hand,  seemed  to  renounce  the  ill-disguised  disgust 
with  which  she  had  regarded  them.  They  seemed  to 
have  more  of  privacy  and  confidence  together,  than  I  fully 
liked  ;  and  I  suspected  that  they  met  in  private,  where 
there  was  less  restraint  than  in  our  presence.  Many  cir- 
cumstances, which  I  noticed  but  little  at  the  time — for  I 
deemed  her  heart  as  open  as  her  angelic  countenance — 
have  since  arisen  on  my  memory,  to  convince  me  of  their 
private  understanding.  But  I  need  not  detail  them — the 
fact  speaks  for  itself.  She  vanished  from  her  father's 
house — Varney  disappeared  at  the  same  time — and  this 
very  day  I  have  seen  her  in  the  character  of  his  paramour, 
living  in  the  house  of  his  sordid  dependant  Foster,  and 
visited  by  him,  muffled,  and  by  a  secret  entrance." 

"  And  this,  then,  is  the  cause  of  your  quarrel  ?  Me- 
thinks,  you  should  have  been  sure  that  the  fair  lady  either 
desired  or  deserved  your  interference." 

"  Mine  host,"  answered  Tressilian,  "  my  father,  such  I 
must  ever  consider  Sir  Hugh  Robsart,  sits  at  home  strug- 
gling with  his  grief,  or  if  so  far  recovered,  vainly  attempt- 
ing to  drown,  in  the  practice  of  his  field-sports,  the  recol- 
lection that  he  had  once  a  daughter — a  recollection  which 
ever  and  anon  breaks  from  him  under  circumstances  the 
most  pathetic.  I  could  not  brook  the  idea  that  he  should 
live  in  misery,  and  Amy  in  guilt  ;  and  I  endeavoured  to 
seek  her  out,  with  the  hope  of  inducing  her  to  return  to 
her  family.  I  have  found  her,  and  when  I  have  either 
succeeded  in  my  attempt,  or  have  found  it  altogether  un- 
availing, it  is  my  purpose  to  embark  for  the  Virginia 
voyage." 

10*     VOL.  I. 


114 


KE  NIL  WORTH- 


u  Be  not  so  rash,  good  sir,"  replied  Giles  Gosling  ; 
"  and  cast  not  yourself  away  because  a  woman — to  be 
brief — is  a  woman,  and  changes  her  lovers  like  her  suit 
of  ribands,  with  no  better  reason  than  mere  phantasy. 
And  ere  we  probe  this  matter  further,  let  me  ask  you  what 
circumstances  of  suspicion  directed  you  so  truly  to  this 
lady's  residence,  or  rather  to  her  place  of  concealment  ?" 

"  The  last  is  the  better  chosen  word,  mine  host,"  an- 
swered Tressilian  ;  "  and  touching  your  question,  the 
knowledge  that  Varney  held  large  grants  of  the  demesnes 
formerly  belonging  to  the  Monks  of  Abingdon,  directed 
me  to  this  neighbourhood  ;  and  your  nephew's  visit  to  his 
old  comrade  Foster,  gave  me  the  means  of  conviction  on 
the  subject." 

"  And  what  is  now  your  purpose,  worthy  sir  ? — excuse 
my  freedom  in  asking  the  question  so  broadly." 

"  I  purpose,  mine  host,"  said  Tressilian,  "  to  renew 
my  visit  to  the  place  of  her  residence  to-morrow,  and  to 
seek  a  more  detailed  communication  with  her  than  I  have 
had  to-day.  She  must  indeed  be  widely  changed  from 
what  she  once  was,  if  my  words  make  no  impression 
upon  her." 

"  Under  your  favour,  Master  Tressilian,"  said  the 
landlord,  "  you  can  follow  no  such  course.  The  lady, 
if  I  understand  you,  has  already  rejected  your  interfer- 
ence in  the  matter." 

"  It  is  but  too  true,"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  I  cannot 
deny  it." 

"  Then,  marry,  by  what  right  or  interest  do  you  pro- 
cess a  compulsory  interference  with  her  inclination,  dis- 
graceful as  it  may  be  to  herself  and  to  her  parents  ?  Un- 
less my  judgment  gulls  me,  those  under  whose  protec- 
tion she  has  thrown  herself,  would  have  small  hesitation 
to  reject  your  interference,  even  if  it  were  that  of  a  father 
or  brother  ;  but  as  a  discarded  lover,  you  expose  yourself 
to  be  repelled  with  the  strong  hand,  as  well  as  with  scorn. 
You  can  apply  to  no  magistrate  for  aid  or  countenance  ; 
and  you  are  hunting  therefore  a  shadow  in  water,  and 


KENILWORTH. 


115 


will  only,  (excuse  my  plainness,)  come  by  ducking  and 
danger  in  attempting  to  catch  it." 

"  I  will  appeal  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,"  said  Tres- 
silian,  "  against  the  infamy  of  his  favourite. — He  courts 
the  severe  and  strict  sect  of  puritans — He  dare  not,  for 
sake  of  his  own  character,  refuse  my  appeal,  even  al- 
though he  were  destitute  of  the  principles  of  honour  and 
nobleness  with  which  fame  invests  him.  Or  I  will  ap- 
peal to  the  queen  herself." 

"  Should  Leicester,"  said  the  landlord,  "  be  disposed 
to  protect  his  dependant  (as  indeed  Varney  is  said  to  be 
very  confident  with  him,)  the  appeal  to  the  queen  may 
bring  them  both  to  reason.  Her  majesty  is  strict  in  such 
matters,  and  (if  it  be  not  treason  to  speak  it)  will  rather, 
it  is  said,  pardon  a  dozen  courtiers  for  falling  in  love  with 
herself,  than  one  for  giving  preference  to  another  woman. 
Coragio,  then,  my  brave  guest  !  for  if  thou  layest  a  peti- 
tion from  Sir  Hugh  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  bucklered 
by  the  story  of  thine  own  wrongs,  the  favourite  earl  dare 
as  soon  leap  into  the  Thames  at  the  fullest  and  deepest, 
as  offer  to  protect  Varney  in  a  cause  of  this  nature.  But 
to  do  this  with  any  chance  of  success,  you  must  go  for- 
mally to  work ;  and  without  staying  here  to  tilt  with  the 
master  of  horse  to  a  privy  counsellor,  and  expose  your- 
self to  the  dagger  of  his  cameradoes,  you  should  hie  you 
to  Devonshire,  get  a  petition  drawn  up  for  Sir  Hugh  Rob- 
sart,  and  make  as  many  friends  as  you  can  to  forward 
your  interest  at  court." 

"  You  have  spoken  well,  mine  host,"  said  Tressilian, 
"  and  I  will  profit  by  your  advice,  and  leave  you  to-mor- 
row early." 

"  Nay,  leave  me  to-night,  sir,  before  to-morrow  comes," 
said  the  landlord.  "  I  never  prayed  for  a  guest's  arrival 
more  eagerly  than  I  do  to  have  you  safely  gone.  My 
kinsman's  destiny  is  most  like  to  be  hanged  for  something, 
but  I  would  not  that  the  cause  were  the  murder  of  an 
honoured  guest  of  mine.  '  Better  ride  safe  in  the  dark,5 
says  the  proverb,  6  than  in  daylight  with  a  murderer  at 


116 


KENILWORTH. 


your  elbow.'  Come,  sir,  I  move  you  for  your  own  safety. 
Your  horse  and  all  is  ready,  and  here  is  your  score." 

"  It  is  somewhat  under  a  noble,"  said  Tressilian,  giv- 
ing one  to  the  host ;  "  give  the  balance  to  pretty  Cicely, 
your  daughter,  and  the  servants  of  the  house." 

"  They  shall  taste  of  your  bounty,  sir,"  said  Gosling, 
"  and  you  should  taste  of  my  daughter's  lips  in  grateful 
acknowledgment,  but  at  this  hour  they  cannot  fill  the 
porch  to  greet  your  departure." 

"  Do  not  trust  your  daughter  too  far  with  your  guests, 
my  good  landlord,"  said  Tressilian. 

"  O,  sir,  we  will  keep  measure  ;  but  I  wonder  not  that 
you  are  jealous  of  them  all. — May  I  crave  to  know  with 
what  aspect  the  fair  lady  at  the  Place  yesterday  received 
you  ?" 

"  I  own,"  said  Tressilian,  "  it  was  angry  as  well  as 
confused,  and  affords  me  little  hope  that  she  is  yet  awak- 
ened from  her  unhappy  delusion." 

"  In  that  case,  sir,  I  see  not  why  you  should  play  the 
champion  of  a  wench  that  will  none  of  you,  and  incur 
the  resentment  of  a  favourite's  favourite,  as  dangerous  a 
monster  as  ever  a  knight-adventurer  encountered  in  the 
old  story  books." 

"  You  do  me  wrong — gross  wrong,"  said  Tressilian  ; 
"  I  do  not  desire  that  Amy  should  ever  turn  thought  upon 
me  more.  Let  me  but  see  her  restored  to  her  father, 
and  all  I  have  to  do  in  Europe — perhaps  in  the  world — 
is  over  and  ended." 

"  A  wiser  resolution  were  to  drink  a  cup  of  sack,  and 
forget  her,"  said  the  landlord.  "  But  five-and-twenty 
and  fifty  look  on  those  matters  with  other  eyes,  especially 
when  one  case  of  peepers  is  set  in  the  skull  of  a  young 
gallant,  and  the  other  in  those  of  an  old  publican.  I  pity 
you>  Master  Tressilian,  but  I  see  not  how  I  can  aid  you 
in  the  matter." 

"  Only  thus  far,  mine  host,"  replied  Tressilian — 
"  Keep  a  watch  on  the  motions  of  those  at  the  Place, 
which  thou  canst  easily  learn  without  suspicion,  as  all 
men's  news  fly  to  the  ale-bench  ;  and  be  pleased  to  com- 


KEJOLWORTH. 


117 


municate  the  tidings  in  writing  to  such  person,  and  to  no 
other,  who  shall  bring  you  this  ring  as  a  special  token — 
look  at  it — it  is  of  value,  and  I  will  freely  bestow  it  on 
you." 

"  Nay,  sir,"  said  the  landlord,  "  I  desire  no  recom- 
pense— but  it  seems  an  unadvised  course  in  me,  being  in 
a  public  line,  to  connect  myself  in  a  matter  of  this  dark 
and  perilous  nature. — I  have  no  interest  in  it." 

"  You,  and  every  father  in  the  land,  who  would  have 
his  daughter  released  from  the  snares  of  shame,  and  sin, 
and  misery,  have  an  interest  deeper  than  aught  concern- 
ing earth  only  could  create." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  the  host,  "  these  are  brave  words ; 
and  I  do  pity  in  my  soul  the  frank-hearted  old  gentleman, 
who  has  minished  his  estate  in  good  house-keeping  for 
the  honour  of  his  country,  and  now  has  his  daughter,  who 
should  be  the  stay  of  his  age,  and  so  forth,  whisked  up  by 
such  a  kite  as  Varney  is.  And  though  your  part  in  the 
matter  is  somewhat  of  the  wildest,  yet  I  will  e'en  be  a 
madcap  for  company,  and  help  you  in  your  honest  at- 
tempt to  get  back  the  good  man's  child,  so  far  as  being 
your  faithful  intelligencer  can  serve.  And  as  I  shall  be 
true  to  you,  I  pray  you  to  be  trusty  to  me,  and  keep  my 
secret  ;  for  it  were  bad  for  the  custom  of  the  Black 
Bear,  should  it  be  said  its  keeper  interfered  in  such  mat- 
ters. Varney  has  interest  enough  with  the  justices  to 
dismount  my  noble  emblem  from  the  post  on  which  he 
swings  so  gallantly,  to  call  in  my  license,  and  ruin  me 
from  garret  to  cellar." 

"  Do  not  doubt  my  secrecy,  mine  host,"  said  Tres- 
silian  ;  "  I  will  retain,  besides,  the  deepest  sense  of  thy 
service,  and  of  the  risk  thou  doest  run — remember  the 
ring  is  my  sure  token. — And  now,  farewell — for  it  was  thy 
wise  advice  that  I  should  tarry  here  as  short  a  time  as 
may  be." 

"  Follow  me,  then,  sir  guest,"  said  the  landlord, 
"  and  tread  as  gently  as  if  eggs  were  under  your  foot, 
instead  of  deal  boards. — No  one  must  know  where  or 
how  you  departed." 


118 


KEJVILWORTH. 


By  the  aid  of  his  dark  lantern  he  conduced  Tressilian, 
as  soon  as  he  had  made  himself  ready  for  his  journey, 
through  a  long  intricacy  of  passages,  which  opened  to  an 
outer  court,  and  from  thence  to  a  remote  stable,  where 
he  had  already  placed  his  guest's  horse.  He  then  aided 
him  to  fasten  on  the  saddle  the  small  portmanteau  which 
contained  his  necessaries,  opened  a  postern-door,  and 
with  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  and  a  reiteration  of  the 
promise  to  attend  to  what  went  on  at  Cumnor-Place,  he 
dismissed  his  guest  to  his  solitary  journey. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Far  in  the  lane  a  lonely  hut  he  found; 

No  tenant  ventured  on  the  unwholesome  ground  ; 

Here  smokes  his  forge,  he  bares  his  sinewy  arm, 

And  early  strokes  the  sounding  anvil  warm  ; 

Around  his  shop  the  steely  sparkles  flew, 

As  for  the  steed  he  shaped  the  bending  shoe. 

Gay's  Trivia. 

As  it  was  deemed  proper  by  the  traveller  himself,  as 
well  as  by  Giles  Gosling,  that  Tressilian  should  avoid 
being  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cumnor  by  those 
whom  accident  might  make  early  stirrers,  the  landlord 
had  given  him  a  route,  consisting  of  various  bye-ways 
and  lanes,  which  he  was  to  follow  in  succession,  and  which, 
all  the  turns  and  short-cuts  duly  observed,  was  to  con- 
duct him  to  the  public  road  to  Marlborough. 

But,  like  counsel  of  every  other  kind,  this  species  of 
direction  is. much  more  easily  given  than  followed  ;  and 
what  betwixt  the  intricacy  of  the  way,  the  darkness  of 
the  night,  Tressilian's  ignorance  of  the  country,  and  the 
sad  and  perplexing  thoughts  with  which  he  had  to  con- 
tend, his  journey  proceeded  so  slowly,  that  morning 
found  him  only  in  the  vale  of  Whitehorse,  memorable 


KENT1W0RTH. 


119 


for  the  defeat  of  the  Danes  in  former  days,  with  his  horse 
deprived  of  a  fore-foot  shoe,  an  accident  which  threat- 
ened to  put  a  stop  to  his  journey,  by  laming  the  animal. 
The  residence  of  a  smith  was  his  first  object  of  inquiry, 
in  which  he  received  little  satisfaction  from  the  dulness 
or  sullenness  of  one  or  two  peasants,  early  bound  for 
their  labour,  who  gave  brief  and  indifferent  answers  to 
his  questions  on  the  subject.  Anxious  at  length,  that  the 
partner  of  his  journey  should  suffer  as  little  as  possible 
from  the  unfortunate  accident,  Tressilian  dismounted,  and 
led  his  horse  in  the  direction  of  a  little  hamlet,  where  he 
hoped  either  to  find  or  hear  tidings  of  such  an  artificer  as 
he  now  wanted.  Through  a  deep  and  muddy  lane,  he  at 
length  waded  on  to  the  place,  which  proved  only  an  as- 
semblage of  five  or  six  miserable  huts,  about  the  doors  of 
which  one  or  two  people,  whose  appearance  seemed  as 
rude  as  that  of  their  dwellings,  were  beginning  the  toils  of 
the  day.  One  cottage,  howrever,  seemed  of  rather  superior 
aspect,  and  the  old  dame,  who  was  sweeping  her  thres- 
hold, appeared  something  less  rude  than  her  neighbours. 
To  her,  Tressilian  addressed  the  oft-repeated  question, 
whether  there  was  a  smith  in  this  neighbourhood,  or  any 
place  where  he  could  refresh  his  horse  ?  The  dame 
looked  him  in  the  face  with  a  peculiar  expression,  as  she 
replied,  "  Smith  !  ay,  truly,  is  there  a  smith — what 
would'st  ha'  wi'  un,  mon  ?" 

"  To  shoe  my  horse,  good  dame,"  answered  Tressil- 
ian ;  "  you  may  see  that  he  has  thrown  a  fore-foot  shoe." 

"  Master  Holiday  !"  exclaimed  the  dame,  without  re- 
turning any  direct  answer — "  Master  Herasmus  Holiday, 
come  and  speak  to  mon,  and  please  you." 

"  Favete  Unguis  /"  answered  a  voice  from  within  ; 
"  I  cannot  now  come  forth,  Gammer  Sludge,  being  in 
the  very  sweetest  bit  of  my  morning  studies." 

"  Nay,  but,  good  now  Master  Holiday,  come  ye  out — 
do  ye — Here's  a  mon  would  to  Wayland  Smith,  and  ] 
care  not  to  show  him  way  to  devil — his  horse  hath  cast 
shoe." 


120 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  Quid  mihi  cum  caballo  ?"  replied  the  man  of  learn- 
ing from  within  ;  "  I  think  there  is  but  one  wise  man  in 
the  hundred,  and  they  cannot  shoe  a  horse  without  him  !" 

And  forth  came  the  honest  pedagogue,  for  such  his 
dress  bespoke  him.  A  long,  lean,  shambling,  stooping 
figure,  was  surmounted  by  a  head  thatched  with  lank 
black  hair  somewhat  inclining  to  grey.  His  features  had 
the  cast  of  habitual  authority,  which  I  suppose  Dionysius 
carried  with  him  from  the  throne  to  the  schoolmaster's 
pulpit,  and  bequeathed  as  a  legacy  to  all  of  the  same 
profession.  A  black  buckram  cassock  was  gathered  at 
his  middle  with  a  belt,  at  which  hung,  instead  of  knife  or 
weapon,  a  goodly  leathern  pen-and-ink  case.  His  ferula 
was  stuck  on  the  other  side,  like  Harlequin's  wooden 
sword  ;  and  he  carried  in  his  hand  the  tattered  volume 
which  he  had  been  busily  perusing. 

On  seeing  a  person  of  Tressilian's  appearance,  which 
he  was  better  able  to  estimate  than  the  country-folks  had 
been,  the  schoolmaster  unbonneted,  and  accosted  him 
with,  "  Salve,  domine.  Intelligisne  linguam  Latinam  f" 

Tressilian  mustered  his  learning  to  reply,  "  Linguce 
LatincE  hand penitus  ignarus,  venid  tud,  domine  eruditis- 
sime,  vernaculam  libentius  loquor," 

The  Latin  reply  had  upon  the  schoolmaster  the  effect 
which  the  mason's  sign  is  said  to  produce  on  the  brethren 
of  the  trowel.  He  was  at  once  interested  in  the  learn- 
ed traveller,  listened  with  gravity  to  his  story  of  a  tired 
horse  and  a  lost  shoe,  and  then  replied  with  solemnity, 
"  It  may  appear  a  simple  thing,  most  worshipful,  to  re- 
ply to  you  that  there  dwells,  within  a  brief  mile  of  these 
tuguria,  the  best  faber  f err  arms,  the  most  accomplished 
blacksmith  that  ever  nailed  iron  upon  horse.  Now,  were 
I  to  say  so,  I  warrant  me  you  would  think  yourself  compos 
voti,  or,  as  the*  vulgar  have  it,  a  made  man." 

"  I  should  at  least,"  said  Tressilian,  "  have  a  direct 
answer  to  a  plain  question,  which  seems  difficult  to  be 
obtained  in  this  country." 


KEN  III  WORTH. 


121 


"  It  is  a  mere  sending  of  a  sinful  soul  to  the  evil  un," 
said  the  old  woman,  "  the  sending  a  living  creature  to 
Wayland  Smith." 

"  Peace,  Gammer  Sludge  !"  said  the  pedagogue  ; 
"  pauca  verba,  Gammer  Sludge  ;  look  to  the  furmity, 
Gammer  Sludge  ;  curetur  jentaculum,  Gammer  Sludge, 
this  gentleman  is  none  of  thy  gossips."  Then  turning  to 
Tressilian,  he  resumed  his  lofty  tone,  "  And  so,  most 
worshipful,  you  would  really  think  yourself  felix  bis 
terque,  should  I  point  out  to  you  the  dwelling  of  this 
same  smith  ?" 

"  Sir,"  replied  Tressilian,  "  I  should  in  that  case  have 
all  that  I  want  at  present — a  horse  fit  to  carry  me — out 
of  hearing  of  your  learning."  The  last  words  he  muttered 
to  himself. 

"  O  cceca  mens  mortalium  /"  said  the  learned  man  ; 
"  well  was  it  sung  by  Junius  Juvenalis,  '  numinibus  vota 
exaudita  malignis.'  " 

"  Learned  Magister,"  said  Tressilian,  "  your  erudi- 
tion so  greatly  exceeds  my  poor  intellectual  capacity,  that 
you  must  excuse  my  seeking  elsewhere  for  information 
which  I  can  better  understand." 

"  There  again  now,"  replied  the  pedagogue,  "  how 
fondly  you  fly  from  him  that  would  instruct  you  !  Truly 
says  Quinctilian"  

"  I  pray,  sir,  let  Quinctilian  be  for  the  present,  and 
answer,  in  a  word,  and  in  English,  if  your  learning  ran 
condescend  so  far,  whether  there  is  any  place  here  where 
I  can  have  opportunity  to  refresh  my  horse,  until  i  can 
have  him  shod  ?" 

"  Thus  much  courtesy,  sir,"  said  the  schoolmaster, 
"  I  can  readily  render  you,  that  although  there  is  in  this 
poor  hamlet  [nostra  panpera  regna  )  no  regular  hospi- 
tium,  as  my  namesake  Erasmus  calleth  it,  yet  forasmuch 
as  you  are  somewhat  embued,  or  at  least  tinged  as  it  were, 
with  good  letters,  I  will  use  my  interest  with  the  good 
woman  of  the  house  to  accommodate  you  with  a  platter 
of  furmity — an  wholesome  food,  for  which  I  have  found 

11      VOL.  I. 


122 


KENILWORTH. 


no  Latin  phrase — your  horse  shall  have  a  share  of  the 
cow-house,  with  a  bottle  of  sweet  hay,  in  which  the  good 
woman  Sludge  so  much  abounds,  that  it  may  be  said  of 
her  cow,  fcenum  habet  in  cornu  ;  and  if  it  please  you  to 
bestow  on  me  the  pleasure  of  your  company,  the  ban- 
quet shall  cost  you  ne  semissem  quidem,  so  much  is  Gam- 
mer Sludge  bound  to  me  for  the  pains  I  have  bestowed 
on  the  top  and  bottom  of  her  hopeful  heir  Dickie,  whom 
I  have  painfully  made  to  travel  through  the  accidens." 

"  Now,  God  yield  ye  for  it,  Mr.  Herasmus,"  said  the 
good  Gammer,  "  and  grant  that  little  Dickie  may  be  the 
better  for  his  accident  ! — and  for  the  rest,  if  the  gentle- 
man list  to  stay,  breakfast  shall  be  on  the  board  in  the 
wringing  of  a  dishcjout ;  and  for  horse-meat  and  man's- 
meat,  I  bear  no  such  base  mind  as  to  ask  a  penny." 

Considering  the  state  of  his  horse,  Tressilian,  upon  the 
whole,  saw  no  better  course  than  to  accept  the  invitation 
thus  learnedly  made  and  hospitably  confirmed,  and  take 
chance  that  when  the  good  pedagogue  had  exhausted 
every  species  of  conversation,  he  might  possibly  conde- 
scend to  tell  him  where  he  could  find  the  smith  they 
*  spoke  of.  He  entered  the  hut  accordingly,  and  sat  down 
with  the  learned  Magister  Erasmus  Holiday,  partook  of 
his  furmity,  and  listened  to  his  learned  account  of  him- 
self for  a  good  half  hour,  ere  he  could  get  him  to  talk 
upon  any  other  topic.  The  reader  will  readily  excuse 
our  accompanying  this  man  of  learning  into  all  the  details 
with  which  he  favoured  Tressilian,  of  which  the  following 
sketch  may  suffice. 

He  was  born  at  Hogsnorton,  where,  according  to  pop- 
ular saying,  the  pigs  play  upon  the  organ,  a  proverb  which 
he  interpreted  allegorically,  as  having  reference  to  the 
herd  of  Epicurus,  of  which  Horace  confessed  himself  a 
partner.  His  name  of  Erasmus,  he  derived  partly  from 
his  father  having  been  the  son  of  a  renowned  washerwo- 
man, who  had  held  that  great  scholar  in  clean  linen  all  the 
while  he  was  at  Oxford  ;  a  task  of  some  difficulty,  as  he 
was  only  possessed  of  two  shirts,  "  the  one,"  as  she  ex- 
pressed herself,  "'to  wash  the  other."    The  vestiges  of 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


123 


one  of  these  camicia,  as  Master  Holiday  boasted,  were 
still  in  his  possession,  having  fortunately  been  detained  by 
bis  grandmother  to  cover  the  balance  of  her  bill.  But 
he  thought  there  was  a  still  higher  and  overruling  cause  for 
his  having  had  the  name  of  Erasmus  conferred  on  him, 
namely,  the  secret  presentiment  of  his  mother's  mind, 
that,  in  the  babe  to  be  christened,  was  a  hidden  genius, 
which  should  one  day  lead  him  to  rival  the  fame  of  the 
great  scholar  of  Amsterdam.  The  schoolmaster's  sur- 
name led  him  as  far  into  dissertation  as  his  Christian  ap- 
pellative. He  was  inclined  to  think  that  he  bore  the 
name  of  Holiday  quasi  lucus  a  non  lucendo^  because  he 
gave  such  few  holidays  to  his  school  ;  "  Hence,"  said 
he,  "  the  schoolmaster  is  termed,  classically,  Ludi  Ma- 
gister,  because  he  deprives  boys  of  their  play."  And 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  he  thought  it  might  bear  a  very 
different  interpretation,  and  refer  to  his  own  exquisite  art 
in  arranging  pageants,  morris-dances,  May-day  festivities, 
and  such  like  holiday  delights,  for  which  he  assured 
Tressilian  he  had  positively  the  purest  and  the  most  in- 
ventive brain  in  England ;  insomuch,  that  his  cunning  in 
framing  such  pleasures  had  made  him  known  to  many 
honourable  persons,  both  in  country  and  court,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  noble  Earl  of  Leicester — "  And  although  he 
may  now  seem  to  forget  me,"  he  said,  "  in  the  multi- 
tude of  state  affairs,  yet  I  am  well  assured,  that  had  he 
some  pretty  pastime  to  array  for  entertainment  of  the 
queen's  grace,  horse  and  man  would  be  seeking  the 
humble  cottage  of  Erasmus  Holiday.  Parvo  contentus, 
in  the  meanwhile,  I  hear  my  pupils  parse,  and  construe, 
worshipful  sir,  and  drive  away  my  time  with  the  aid  of 
the  muses.  And  I  have  at  all  times,  when  in  correspon- 
dence with  foreign  scholars,  subscribed  myself  Erasmus 
ab  Die  Fausto,  and  have  enjoyed  the  distinction  due  to 
the  learned  under  that  title  ;  witness  the  erudite  Diedri- 
chus  Buckerschockius,  who  dedicated  to  me  under  that 
title,  his  treatise  on  the  letter  Tau.  In  fine,  sir,  I  have 
been  a  happy  and  distinguished  man." 


124 


KEN  It  WORTH . 


"  Long  may  it  be  so,  sir,"  said  the  traveller  ;  "  but 
permit  me  to  ask,  in  your  own  learned  phrase,  Quid  hoc 
ad  Iphycli  boves,  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  shoeing 
of  my  poor  nag  ?" 

"  Festina  lente"  said  the  man  of  learning,  "  we  will 
presently  come  to  that  point.  You  must  know  that  some 
two  or  three  years  past,  there  came  to  these  parts  one 
who  called  himself  Doctor  Doboobie,  although  it  may  be 
he  never  wrote  eyen  Magister  artium,  save  in  right  of 
his  hungry  belly.  Or  it  may  be  that  if  he  had  any  de- 
grees, they  were  of  the  devil's  giving,  for  he  was  what 
the  vulgar  call  a  white  witch — a  cunning  man,  and  such 
like. — Now,  good  sir,  I  perceive  you  are  impatient ;  but 
if  a  man  tell  not  his  tale  his  own  way,  how  have  you 
warrant  that  he  can  tell  it  yours  ?" 

"  Well,  then,  learned  sir,  take  your  way,"  answered 
Tressilian  ;  "  only  let  us  travel  at  a  sharper  pace,  for  my 
time  is  somewhat  of  the  shortest." 

"  Well,  sir,"  resumed  Erasmus  Holiday,  with  the  most 
provoking  perseverance,  I  will  not  say  that  this  same 
Demetrius,  for  so  he  wrote  himself  when  in  foreign  parts, 
was  an  actual  conjuror,  but  certain  it  is,  that  he  professed 
to  be  a  brother  of  the  mystical  order  of  the  Rosy  Cross, 
a  disciple  of  Geber  ( ex  nomine  cujus  venit  verbum  ver- 
naculum  gibberish,)  He  cured  wounds  by  salving  the 
weapon  instead  of  the  sore — told  fortunes  by  palmistry 
— discovered  stolen  goods  by  the  sieve  and  shears- — 
gathered  the  right  maddow  and  the  male  fern  seed, 
through  use  of  which  men  walk  invisible — pretended 
some  advances  towards  the  panacea,  or  universal  elixir, 
and  affected  to  convert  good  lead  into  sorry  silver." 

"  In  other  words,"  said  Tressilian,  "  he  was  a  quack 
salver  and  common  cheat  ;  but  what  has  all  this  to  do 
with  my  nag,  and  the  shoe  which  he  has  lost  ?" 

"  With  your  worshipful  patience,"  replied  the  diffusive 
man  of  letters,  "  you  shall  understand  that  presently — 
patientia  then,  right  worshipful,  which  word  according  to 
our  Marcus  Tullius,  is  6  dijicilium  rerum  diurna  perpes- 
sio.    This  same  Demetrius  Doboobie,  after  dealing  with 


KENILWORTH. 


125 


the  country,  as  I  have  told  you,  began  to  acquire  fame 
inter  magnates,  among  the  prime  men  of  the  land,  and 
there  is  likelihood  he  might  have  aspired  to  great  matters, 
had  not,  according  to  vulgar  fame,  (for  I  aver  not  the 
thing  as  according  with  rsy  certain  knowledge,)  the  devil 
claimed  his  right  one  dan.  night  and  flowrn  off  with  De- 
metrius, who  was  never  seen  or  heard  of  afterwards. 
Now  here  comes  the  medulla,  the  very  marrow  of  my 
tale.  This  Doctor  Doboobie  had  a  servant,  a  poor  snake, 
whom  he  employed  in  trimming  his  furnace,  regulating  it 
by  just  measure — compounding  his  drugs — tracing  his 
circles — cajoling  his  patients,  et  sic  de  cceteris. — Well, 
right  worshipful,  the  Doctor  being  removed  thus  strange- 
ly, and  in  a  way  which  struck  the  whole  country  with 
terror,  this  poor  Zany  thinks  to  himself,  in  the  words  of 
Maro,  6  Uno  avulso  non  deficit  alter  ;'  and,  even  as  a 
tradesman's  apprentice  sets  himself  up  in  his  master's 
shop  when  he  is  dead,  or  hath  retired  from  business,  so 
doth  this  Wayland  assume  the  dangerous  trade  of  his  de- 
funct master.  But  although,  most  worshipful  sir,  the 
world  is  ever  prone  to  listen  to  the  pretensions  of  such 
unworthy  men,  who  are,  indeed,  mere  saltim  banqui  and 
charlatani,  though  usurping  the  style  and  skill  of  doctors 
of  medicine,  yet  the  pretensions  of  this  poor  Zany,  this 
Wayland,  were  too  gross  to  pass  on  them,  nor  was  there 
a  mere  rustic,  a  villager,  who  was  not  ready  to  accost 
him  in  the  sense  of  Persius,  though  in  their  own  rugged 
words, — 

1  Diluis  Helleborum,  certo  compescere  puncto 
Nescius  Examen  ?  vetat  hoc  natura  medendi/ 

which  I  have  thus  rendered  in  a  poor  paraphrase  of  mine 
own, — 

Wilt  thou  mix  hellebore,  who  doth  not  know 
How  many  grains  doth  to  the  mixture  go  ? 
The  art  of  medicine  this  forbids,  I  trow. 

Moreover,  the  evil  reputation  of  the  master,  and  his 
strange  and  doubtful  end,  or  at  least,  sudden  disappear- 

11*     VOL.  I. 


326 


KENILWORTfl. 


ance,  prevented  any,  excepting  the  most  desperate  of  men, 
to  seek  any  advice  or  opinion  from  the  servant  ;  where- 
fore, the  poor  vermin  was  likely  at  first  to  swarf  for 
very  hunger.  But  the  devil  that  serves  him,  since  the 
death  of  Demetrius  or  Doboob'^,  put  him  on  a  fresh  de- 
vice. This  knave,  whether  from  the  inspiration  of  the 
devil,  or  from  early  education,  shoes  horses,  better  than 
e'er  a  man  betwixt  us  and  Iceland  ;  and  so  he  gives  up 
his  practice  on  the  bipeds,  the  two-legged  and  unfledged 
species,  called  mankind,  and  betakes  him  entirely  to  shoe- 
ing of  horses." 

"  Indeed  !  and  where  does  he  lodge  all  this  time  ?" 
said  Tressilian.  "  And  does  he  shoe  horses  well  ? — 
show  me  his  dwelling  presently." 

The  interruption  pleased  not  the  Magister,  who  ex- 
claimed, "  O,  cceca  mens  hominum  !  though, by  the  way, 
I  used  that  quotation  before.  But  I  would  the  classics 
could  afford  me  any  sentiment,  of  power  to  stop  those 
who  are  so  willing  to  rush  upon  their  own  destruction. 
Hear  but,  I  pray  you,  the  conditions  of  this  man,"  said 
he,  in  continuation,  "  ere  you  are  so  willing  to  place 
yourself  within  his  danger?-  

"  A'  takes  no  money  for  a's  work,"  said  the  dame,  who 
stood  by,  enraptured  as  it  were  with  the  fine  words  and 
learned  apothegms,  which  glided  so  fluently  from  her 
erudite  inmate,  Master  Holiday.  But  this  interruption 
pleased  not  the  magister,  more  than  that  of  the  traveller. 

"  Peace,"  said  he,  "  Gammer  Sludge  ;  know  your 
place,  if  it  be  your  will.  Suflamina,  Gammer  Sludge, 
and  allow  me  to  expound  this  matter  to  our  worshipful 
guest. — Sir,"  said  he,  again  addressing  Tressilian,  "  this 
old  woman  speaks  true,  though  in  her  own  rude  style  ; 
for  certainly  this  faber  ferrarius,  or  blacksmith,  takes 
money  of  no  one." 

"  And  that  is  a  sure  sign  he  deals  with  Satan,"  said 
Dame  Sludge  ;  "  since  no  good  Christian  would  ever 
refuse  the  wages  of  his  labour." 

"  The  old  woman  hath  touched  it  again,"  said  the 
pedagogue  ;  "  rem  acu  tetigit — she  hath  pricked  it  with 


KENIJVWORTH. 


127 


her  needle's  point. — This  Wayland  takes  no  money,  in- 
deed, nor  doth  he  show  himself  to  any  one." 

"  And  can  this  madman,  for  such  I  hold  him,"  said  the 
traveller,  "  know  aught  like  good  skill  of  his  trade  ?" 

"  O,  sir,  in  that  let  us  give  the  devil  his  due — Mulci- 
ber  himself,  with  all  his  Cyclops,  could  hardly  amend 
him.  But  assuredly  there  is  little  wisdom  in  taking  coun- 
sel or  receiving  aid  from  one,  who  is  but  too  plainly  in 
league  with  the  author  of  evil." 

"  I  must  take  my  chance  of  that,  good  Master  Holi- 
day," said  Tressilian,  rising  ;  "  and  as  my  horse  must 
now  have  eaten  his  provender,  I  must  needs  thank  you 
for  your  good  cheer,  and  pray  you  to  show  me  this  man's 
residence,  that  I  may  have  the  means  of  proceeding  on 
my  journey." 

"  Ay,  ay,  do  ye  show  him,  Master  Herasmus,"  said 
the  old  dame,  who  was,  perhaps,  desirous  to  get  her  house 
freed  of  her  guest ;  "  a'  must  needs  go,  when  the  devil 
drives." 

"  Do  manus"  said  the  magister,  "  I  submit — taking 
the  world  to  witness,  that  I  have  possessed  this  honourable 
gentleman  with  the  full  injustice  which  he  has  done  and 
shall  do  to  his  own  soul,  if  he  becomes  thus  a  trinketer 
with  Satan.  Neither  will  I  go  forth  with  our  guest  my- 
self, but  rather  send  my  pupil.  Ricarde  !  Adsis,  nebulo." 

"  Under  your  favour,  not  so,"  answered  the  old  wom- 
an ;  "  you  may  peril  your  own  soul,  if  you  list,  but  my  son 
shall  budge  on  no  such  errand  ;  and  I  wonder  at  you, 
Domine  Doctor,  to  propose  such  a  piece  of  service  for 
little  Dickie." 

"  Nay,  my  good  Gammer  Sludge,"  answered  the  pre- 
ceptor, "  Ricardus  shall  go  but  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
indicate  with  his  digit  to  the  stranger,  the  dwelling  of 
Wayland  Smith.  Believe  not  that  any  evil  can  come  to 
him,  he  having  read  this  morning,  fasting,  a  chapter  of 
the  Septuagint,  and,  moreover,  having  had  his  lesson  in 
the  Greek  Testament."  i$ 

"  Ay,"  said  his  mother,  "  and  I  have  sown  a  sprig  of 
witch's  elm  in  the  neck  of  un's  doublet,  ever  since  that 


128 


KE  Nil  WORTH. 


foul  thief  has  begun  his  practices  on  man  and  beast  in 
these  parts." 

"  And  as  he  goes  oft  (as  I  hugely  suspect)  towards 
this  conjuror  for  his  own  pastime,  he  may  for  once  go 
thither,  or  near  it,  to  pleasure  us,  and  to  assist  this  stran- 
ger.   Ergo,  hens  Ricarde  !  adsis  quozso,  mi  didascale." 

The  pupil,  thus  affectionately  invoked,  at  length  came 
stumbling  into  the  room  ;  a  queer,  shambling,  ill-made 
urchin,  who,  by  his  stunted  growth,  seemed  about  twelve 
or  thirteen  years  old,  though  he  was  probably,  in  reality, 
a  year  or  two  older,  with  a  carroty  pate  in  huge  disorder, 
a  freckled  sun-burnt  visage,  with  a  snub  nose,  a  long  chin, 
and  two  peery  grey  eyes,  which  had  a  droll  obliquity  of 
vision,  approaching  to  a  squint,  though  perhaps  not  a  de- 
cided one.  It  was  impossible  to  look  at  the  little  man 
without  some  disposition  to  laugh,  especially  when  Gam- 
mer Sludge,  seizing  upon  and  kissing  him,  in  spite  of  his 
struggling  and  kicking  in  reply  to  her  caresses,  termed 
him  her  own  precious  pearl  of  beauty." 

"  Ricarde"  said  the  preceptor,  "  you  must  forthwith 
(which  is  profecto)  set  forth  so  far  as  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  show  this  man  of  worship  Wayland  Smith's  work- 
shop." 

"  A  proper  errand  of  a  morning,"  said  the  boy,  in 
better  language  than  Tressilian  expected  ;  "  and  who 
knows  but  the  devil  may  fly  away  with  me  before  I  come 
back  ?" 

"  Ay,  marry  may  un,"  said  Dame  Sludge,  "  and  you 
might  have  thought  twice,  Master  Domine,  ere  you  sent 
my  dainty  darling  on  arrow  such  errand.  It  is  not  for 
such  doings  I  feed  your  belly  and  clothe  your  back,  I 
warrant  you." 

"  Pshaw — nugce,  good  Gammer  Sludge,"  answered 
the  preceptor  ;  "  I  ensure  you  that  Satan,  if  there  be 
Satan  in  the  case,  shall  not  touch  a  thread  of  his  garment ; 
for  Dickie  can  say  his  pater  with  the  best,  and  may  de- 
fend the  foul  fiend — Eumenidzs  Stygiumque  nefas" 

"  Ay,  and  I  have  sewed  a  sprig  of  the  mountain-ash 
into  his  collar,"  said  the  good  woman,  "  which  will  avail 


KENILWORTH. 


129 


more  than  your  clerkship,  I  wus  ;  but  for  all  that,  it  is  ill 
to  seek  the  devil  or  his  mates  either." 

"  My  good  boy,"  said  Tressilian,  who  saw  from  a  gro- 
tesque sneer  on  Dickie's  face,  that  he  was  more  like  to 
act  upon  his  own  bottom,  than  by  the  instruction  of  his 
elders,  "  I  will  give  thee  a  silver  groat,  my  pretty  fellow, 
if  you  will  but  guide  me  to  this  man's  forge." 

The  boy  gave  him  a  knowing  side-look,  which  seemed 
to  promise  acquiescence,  while  at  the  same  time  he  ex- 
claimed, "  I  be  your  guide  to  Wayland  Smith's  !  Why, 
man,  did  I  not  say  that  the  devil  might  fly  off  with  me, 
just  as  the  kite  there  (looking  to  the  window)  is  flying  off 
with  one  of  grandame's  chicks." 

"  The  kite  !  the  kite  !"  exclaimed  the  old  woman  in 
return,  and  forgetting  all  other  matters  in  her  alarm, 
hastened  to  the  rescue  of  her  chicken  as  fast  as  her  old 
legs  could  carry  her. 

"  Now  for  it,"  said  the  urchin  to  Tressilian  ;  "  snatch 
your  beaver,  get  out  your  horse,  and  have  at  the  silver 
groat  you  spoke  of." 

"  Nay,  but  tarry,  tarry,"  said  the  preceptor,  "  Sujla- 
mina  Ricarde" 

"  Tarry  yourself,"  said  Dickie,  "  and  think  what 
answer  you  are  to  make  to  grannie  for  sending  me  post 
to  the  devil." 

The  teacher,  aware  of  the  responsibility  he  was  incur- 
ring, bustled  up  in  great  haste  to  lay  hold  of  the  urchin, 
and  to  prevent  his  departure  ;  but  Dickie  slipped  through 
his  fingers,  bolted  from  the  cottage,  and  sped  him  to  the 
top  of  a  neighbouring  rising  ground  ;  while  the  precep- 
tor, despairing  by  well-taught  experience,  of  recovering 
his  pupil  by  speed  of  foot,  had  recourse  to  the  most  hon- 
ied epithets  the  Latin  vocabulary  affords,  to  persuade  his 
return.  But  to  mi  anime^  corculum  meum,  and  all  such 
classical  endearments,  the  truant  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and 
kept  frisking  on  the  top  of  the  rising  ground  like  a  goblin 
by  moonlight,  making  signs  to  his  new  acquaintance, 
Tressilian,  to  follow  him. 


130 


KE  NIL  WORTH . 


The  traveller  lost  no  time  in  getting  out  his  horse,  and 
departing  to  join  his  elfish  guide,  after  half-forcing  on  the 
poor  deserted  teacher  a  recompense  for  the  entertain- 
ment he  had  received,  which  partly  allayed  the  terror  he 
had  for  facing  the  return  of  the  old  lady  of  the  mansion. 
Apparently  this  took  place  soon  afterwards,  for  ere 
Tressilian  and  his  guide  had  proceeded  far  on  their  jour- 
ney, they  heard  the  screams  of  a  cracked  female  voice, 
intermingled  with  the  classical  objurgations  of  Master 
Erasmus  Holiday.  But  Dickie  Sludge,  equally  deaf  to 
the  voice  of  maternal  tenderness  and  of  magisterial  au- 
thority, skipped  on  unconsciously  before  Tressilian,  only 
observing,  that,  "  if  they  cried  themselves  hoarse,  they 
might  go  lick  the  honey-pot,  for  he  had  eaten  up  all  the 
honey-comb  himself  on  yesterday  even." 


CHAPTER  X. 

There  entering  in,  they  found  the  goodman  selfe 
Full  busilie  unto  his  work  ybent, 
Who  was  to  weet  a  wretched  wearish  elf, 
With  hollow  eyes  and  rawbone  cheeks  forspent, 
As  if  he  had  been  long  in  prison  pent. 

The  Faery  Queene. 

«  Are  we  far  from  the  dwelling  of  this  smith,  my 
pretty  lad?"  said  Tressilian  to  his  young  guide. 

"  How  is  it  you  call  me  ?"  said  the  boy,  looking  askew 
at  him  with  his  sharp  grey  eyes. 

"  I  call  you  my  pretty  lad— is  there  any  offence  in 
that,  my  boy  ?" 

"  No — but  were  you  with  my  grandame  and  Dominie 
Holiday,  you  might  sing  chorus  to  the  old  song  of 

'  We  three 
Tom-fools  be.7  " 


KENILWORTH. 


131 


"  And  why  so,  my  little  man  ?"  said  Tressilian. 

"  Because,"  answered  the  ugly  urchin,  "  you  are  the 
only  three  ever  called  me  pretty  lad — Now  my  grandame 
does  it  because  she  is  parcel  blind  by  age,  and  whole 
blind  by  kindred — and  my  muster,  the  poor  Dominie, 
does  it  to  curry  favour,  and  have  the  fullest  platter  of 
furmity,  and  the  warmest  seat  by  the  fire.  But  what 
you  call  me  pretty  lad  for,  you  know  best  yourself." 

"  Thou  art  a  sharp  wag  at  least,  if  not  a  pretty  one. 
But  what  do  thy  play -fellows  call  thee  ?" 

"  Hobgoblin,"  answered  the  boy,  readily  ;  "  but  for 
all  that,  I  would  rather  have  my  own  ugly  viznomy  than 
any  of  their  jolterheads,  that  have  no  more  brains  in 
them  than  a  brickbat." 

"  Then  you  fear  not  this  smith,  whom  you  are  going 
to  see." 

"  Me  fear  him  !"  answered  the  boy  ;  "  if  he  were  the 
devil  folks  think  him,  I  would  not  fear  him  ;  but  though 
there  is  something  queer  about  him,  he's  no  more  a  devil 
than  you  are,  and  that's  what  I  would  not  tell  to  every 
one." 

"  And  why  do  you  tell  it  to  me  then,  my  boy  ?"  said 
Tressilian. 

"  Because  you  are  another  guess  gentleman  than  those 
we  see  here  every  day,"  replied  Dickie  ;  "  and  though 
I  am  as  ugly  as  sin,  I  would  not  have  you  think  me  an 
ass,  especially  as  I  may  have  a  boon  to  ask  of  you  one 
day." 

"  And  what  is  that,  my  lad,  whom  I  must  not  call  pret- 
ty ?"  replied  Tressilian. 

"  O,  if  I  were  to  ask  it  just  now,"  said  the  boy,  "  you 
would  deny  it  me — but  I  will  wait  till  we  meet  at  court." 

"  At  court,  Richard  !  are  you  bound  for  court  ?"  said 
Tressilian. 

"  Ay,  ay,  that's  just  like  the  rest  of  them,"  replied  the 
boy  ;  "  I  warrant  me  you  think  what  should  such  an  ill— 
I     favoured,  scrambling  urchin  do  at  court  ?    But  let  Rich- 
ard Sludge  alone  ;  I  have  not  been  cock  of  the  roost  here 
for  nothing.     I  will  make  sharp  wit  mend  foul  feature." 


132 


KENJLWORTH. 


"  But  what  will  your  grandame  say,  and  your  tutor, 
Dominie  Holiday." 

"  E'en  what  they  like,"  replied  Dickie  j  "  the  one  has 
her  chickens  to  reckon,  and  the  other  has  his  boys  to 
whip  ;  I  would  have  given  them  the  candle  to  hold  long 
since,  and  shown  this  trumpery  hamlet  a  fair  pair  of  heels, 
but  that  Dominie  promises  I  should  go  with  him  to  bear 
share  in  the  next  pageant  be  is  to  set  forth,  and  they  say 
there  are  to  be  great  revels  shortly." 

"  And  whereabout  are  they  to  be  held,  my  little 
friend  ?"  said  Tressilian. 

"  O,  at  some  castle  far  in  the  north,"  answered  his 
guide — "  a  world's  breadth  from  Berkshire.  But  our  old 
Dominie  holds  that  they  cannot  go  forward  without  him  ; 
and  it  may  be  he  is  right,  for  he  has  put  in  order  many  a 
fair  pageant.  He  is  not  half  the  fool  you  would  take  him 
for,  when  he  gets  to  work  he  understands  ;  and  so  he  can 
spout  verses  like  a  play-actor,  when,  God  wot,  if  you  set 
him  to  steal  a  goose's  egg,  he  would  be  drubbed  by  the 
gander." 

"  And  you  are  to  play  a  part  in  his  next  show  ?"  said 
Tressilian,  somewhat  interested  by  the  boy's  boldness  of 
conversation,  and  shrewd  estimate  of  character. 

"  In  faith,"  said  Richard  Sludge,  in  answer,  "  he  hath 
so  promised  me  ;  and  if  he  break  his  word,  it  will  be 
the  worse  for  him  ;  for  let  me  take  the  bit  between  my 
teeth,  and  turn  my  head  down  hill,  and  I  will  shake  him 
off  with  a  fall  that  may  harm  his  bones — And  I  should  not 
like  much  to  hurt  him  neither,"  said  he,  "  for  the  tire- 
some old  fool  has  painfully  laboured  to  teach  me  all  he 
could. — But  enough  of  that — here  are  we  at  Wayland 
Smith's  forge-door." 

"  You  jest,  my  little  friend,"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  here 
is  nothing  but  a  bare  moor,  and  that  ring  of  stones,  with 
a  great  one  in  the  midst,  like  a  Cornish  barrow." 

"  Ay,  and  that  great  flat  stone  in  the  midst,  which  lies 
across  the  top  of  these  uprights,"  said  the  boy,  tf  is 
Wayland  Smith's  counter,  that  you  must  tell  down  your 
money  upon." 


KE  XIX  WORTH. 


133 


"  What  do  you  mean  by  such  folly  ?"  said  the  travel- 
ler, beginning  to  be  angry  with  the  boy,  and  vexed  with 
himself  for  having  trusted  such  a  hair-brained  guide. 

"  Why,"  said  Dickie,  with  a  grin,  "  you  must  tie  your 
horse  to  that  upright  stone  that  has  the  ring  in't,  and  then 
you  must  whistle  three  times,  and  lay  me  down  your  sil- 
ver groat  on  that  other  flat  stone,  wralk  out  of  the  circle, 
sit  down  on  the  west  side  of  that  little  thicket  of  bushes, 
and  take  heed  you  look  neither  to  right  nor  to  left  for  ten 
minutes,  or  so  long  as  you  shall  hear  the  hammer  clink, 
and  whenever  it  ceases,  say  your  prayers  for  the  space 
you  could  tell  a  hundred, — or  count  over  a  hundred, 
which  will  do  as  well, — and  then  come  into  the  circle, 
you  will  find  your  money  gone  and  your  horse  shod." 

"  My  money  gone  to  a  certainty  !"  said  Tressilian  ; 
"  but  as  for  the  rest — Hark  ye,  my  lad,  I  am  not  your 
schoolmaster,  but  if  you  play  off  your  waggery  on  me,  I 
will  take  a  part  of  his  task  off  his  hands,  and  punish  you 
to  purpose." 

"  Ay,  when  you  can  catch  me  !"  said  the  boy,  and 
presently  took  to  his  heels  across  the  heath,  with  a  veloc- 
ity which  baffled  every  attempt  of  Tressilian  to  overtake 
him,  loaded  as  he  was  with  his  heavy  boots.  Nor  was  it 
the  least  provoking  part  of  the  urchin's  conduct,  that  he 
did  not  exert  his  utmost  speed,  like  one  who  finds  himself 
in  danger  or  who  is  frightened,  but  preserved  just  such  a 
rate  as  to  encourage  Tressilian  to  continue  the  chase,  and 
then  darted  away  from  him  with  the  swiftness  of  the 
wind,  when  his  pursuer  supposed  he  had  nearly  run  him 
down,  doubling,  at  the  same  time,  and  winding  so  as  al- 
ways to  keep  near  the  place  from  which  he  started. 

m  This  lasted  until  Tressilian,  from  very  weariness,  stood 
still,  and  was  about  to  abandon  the  pursuit  with  a  hearty 
curse  on  the  ill-favoured  urchin,  who  had  engaged  him 
in  an  exercise  so  ridiculous.  But  the  boy,  who  had,  as 
formerly  planted  himself  on  the  top  of  a  hillock  close  in 
front,  began  to  clap  his  long  thin  hands,  point  with  his 
skinny  fingers,  and  twist  his  wild  and  ugly  features  into 

12     VOL.  I. 


134 


KENLL  WORTH. 


such  extravagant  expressions  of  laughter  and  derision, 
that  Tressilian  began  half  to  doubt  whether  he  had  not  in 
view  an  actual  hobgoblin. 

Provoked  extremely,  yet  at  the  same  time  feeling  an 
irresistible  desire  to  laugh,  so  very  odd  were  the  boy's 
grimaces  and  gesticulations,  he  returned  to  his  horse,  and 
mounted  him  with  the  purpose  of  pursuing  Dickie  at 
more  advantage. 

The  boy  no  sooner  saw  him  mount  his  horse,  than  he 
holloed  out  to  him,  that  rather  than  he  should  spoil  his 
white-footed  nag,  he  would  come  to  him,  on  condition 
he  would  keep  his  fingers  to  himself. 

"  I  will  make  no  condition  with  thee,  thou  naughty 
varlet !"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  I  will  have  thee  at  my  mercy 
in  a  moment." 

"  Aha,  Master  Traveller,"  said  the  boy,  "  there  is 
a  marsh  hard  by,  would  swallow  all  the  horses  of  the 
queen's  guard-— I  will  into  it,  and  see  where  you  will  go 
then. — You  shall  hear  the  bittern  bump,  and  the  wild 
drake  quack,  ere  you  get  hold  of  me  without  my  con- 
sent, I  promise  you." 

Tressilian  looked  out,  and  from  the  appearance  of  the 
ground  . behind  the  hillock,  believed  it  might  be  as  the 
boy  said,  and  accordingly  determined  to  strike  up  a  peace 
with  so  light-footed  and  ready-witted  an  enemy — "  Come 
down,"  he  said,  "  thou  mischievous  brat ! — Leave  thy 
mopping  and  mowing,  and  come  hither ;  I  will  do  thee 
no  harm  as  I  am  a  gentleman." 

The  boy  answered  his  invitation  with  the  utmost  con- 
fidence, and  danced  down  from  his  stance  with  a  galliard 
sort  of  step,  keeping  his  eye  at  the  same  time  fixed  on 
Tressilian's,  who,  once  more  dismounted,  stood  with  his 
horse's  bridle  in  his  hand,  breathless,  and  half  exhausted 
with  his  fruitless  exercise,  though  not  one  drop  of  moist- 
ure appeared  on  the  freckled  forehead  of  the  urchin, 
which  looked  like  a  piece  of  dry  and  discoloured  parch- 
ment, drawn  tight  across  the  brow  of  a  fleshless  skull. 

"  And  tell  me,"  said  Tressilian,  "  why  you  use  me 
thus,  thou  mischievous  imp  ?  or  what  your  meaning  is  by 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


135 


telling  me  so  absurd  a  legend  as  you  wished  but  now  to 
put  on  me  ?  Or  rather  show  me,  in  good  earnest,  this 
smith's  forge,  and  I  will  give  thee  what  will  buy  thee  ap- 
ples through  the  whole  winter." 

"  Were  you  to  give  me  an  orchard  of  apples,"  said 
Dickie  Sludge,  "  I  can  guide  thee  no  better  than  I  have 
done.  Lay  down  the  silver  token  on  the  flat  stone — 
whistle  three  times — then  come  sit  down  on  the  western 
side  of  the  thicket  of  gorse  ;  I  will  sit  by  you,  and  give 
you  free  leave  to  wring  my  head  off,  unless  you  hear  the 
smith  at  work  within  two  minutes  after  we  are  seated." 

"  I  may  be  tempted  to  take  thee  at  thy  word,"  said 
Tressilian,  "  if  you  make  me  do  aught  half  so  ridiculous 
for  your  own  mischievous  sport — however,  I  will  prove 
your  spell. — Here,  then,  I  tie  my  horse  to  this  upright 
stone — I  must  lay  my  silver  groat  here,  and  whistle  three 
times,  sayest  thou  ?" 

"  Ay,  but  thou  must  whistle  louder  than  an  unfledged 
owzle,"  said  the  boy,  as  Tressilian,  having  laid  down  his 
money,  and  half  ashamed  of  the  folly  he  practised,  made 
a  careless  whistle — "  You  must  whistle  louder  than  that, 
for  who  knows  where  the  smith  is  that  you  call  for  ? — 
He  may  be  in  the  King  of  France's  stables  for  what  I 
know." 

"  Why,  you  said  but  now  he  was  no  devil,"  replied 
Tressilian. 

"  Man  or  devil,"  said  Dickie,  "  I  see  that  I  must 
summon  him  for  you  ;"  and  therewithal  he  whistled  sharp 
and  shrill,  with  an  acuteness  of  sound  that  almost  thrilled 
through  Tressilian's  brain- — "  That  is  what  I  call  whist- 
ling," said  he,  after  he  had  repeated  the  signal  thrice  ; 
and  now  to  cover,  to  cover,  or  Whitefoot  will  not  be  shod 
this  day." 

Tressilian,  musing  what  the  upshot  of  this  mummery 
was  to  be,  yet  satisfied  there  was  to  be  some  serious  re- 
sult, by  the  confidence  with  which  the  boy  had  put  him- 
self in  his  power,  suffered  himself  to  be  conducted  to  that 
side  of  the  little  thicket  of  gorse  and  brushwood  which 
was  farthest  from  the  circle  of  stones,  and  there  sat  down  ; 


136 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


and  as  it  occurred  to  him  that,  after  all,  this  might  be  a 
trick  for  stealing  his  horse,  he  kept  his  hand  on  the  boy's 
collar,  determined  to  make  him  hostage  for  its  safety. 

"  Now,  hush  and  listen,"  said  Dickie,  in  a  low  whis- 
per ;  "  you  will  soon  hear  the  tack  of  a  hammer  that 
was  never  forged  of  earthly  iron,  for  the  stone  it  was 
made  of  was  shot  from  the  moon."  And  in  effect  Tres- 
silian did  immediately  hear  the  light  stroke  of  a  hammer, 
as  when  a  farrier  is  at  work.  The  singularity  of  such 
a  sound,  in  so  very  lonely  a  place,  made  him  involunta- 
rily shudder ;  but  looking  at  the  boy,  and  discovering, 
by  the  arch  malicious  expression  of  his  countenance  that 
the  urchin  saw  and  enjoyed  his  slight  tremor,  he  became 
convinced  that  the  whole  was  a  concerted  stratagem,  and 
determined  to  know  by  whom,  or  for  what  purpose  the 
trick  was  played  off. 

Accordingly  he  remained  perfectly  quiet  all  the  time 
that  the  hammer  continued  to  sound,  being  about  the 
space  usually  employed  in  fixing  a  horse-shoe.  But  the 
instant  the  sound  ceased,  Tressilian,  instead  of  interpos- 
ing the  space  of  time  which  his  guide  had  requested, 
started  up  with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  ran  round  the  thick- 
et, and  confronted  a  man  in  a  farrier's  leathern  apron, 
but  otherwise  fantastically  attired  in  a  bear-skin  dressed 
with  the  fur  on,  and  a  c?p  of  the  same,  which  almost  hid 
the  sooty  and  begrimed  features  of  the  wearer — "  Come 
back,  come  back  !"  cried  the  boy  to  Tressilian,  "  or  you 
will  be  torn  to  pieces — -no  man  lives  that  looks  on  him." 
— In  fact,  the  invisible  smith  (now  fully  visible)  heaved 
up  his  hammer,  and  showed  symptoms  of  doing  battle. 

But  when  the  boy  observed  that  neither  his  own  en- 
treaties, nor  the  menaces  of  the  farrier  appeared  to  change 
Tressilian's  purpose,  but  that  on  the  contrary,  he  con- 
fronted the  hammer  with  his  drawn  sword,  he  exclaimed 
to  the  smith  in  turn,  "  Wayland,  touch  him  not,  or  you 
will  come  by  the  worse  — the  gentleman  is  a  true  gentle- 
man, and  a  bold." 

"  So  thou  hast  betrayed  me,  Flibbertigibbet  ?"  said 
the  smith  ;  "  it  shall  be  the  worse  for  thee," 


KENLLWORTH.  137 

"  Be  who  thou  wilt,"  said  Tressilian,  "  thou  art  in  no 
danger  from  me,  so  thou  tell  me  the  meaning  of  this  prac- 
tice, and  why  thou  drivest  thy  trade  in  this  mysterious 
fashion." 

The  smith,  however,  turning  to  Tressilian,  exclaimed, 
in  a  threatening  tone,  "  Who  questions  the  Keeper  of 
the  Crystal  Castle  of  Light,  the  Lord  of  the  Green  Lion, 
the  Rider  of  the  Red  Dragon  ? — Hence  ! — avoid  thee, 
ere  I  summon  Talpack  with  his  fiery  lance,  to  quell,  crush, 
and  consume  !"  These  words  he  uttered  with  violent  ges- 
ticulations, mouthing  and  flourishing  his  hammer. 

"Peace,  thou  vile  cozener,  with  thy  gipsy  cant!" 
replied  Tressilian,  scornfully,  "  and  follow  me  to  the 
next  magistrate,  or  I  will  cut  thee  over  the  pate." 

"  Peace,  I  pray  thee,  good  Wayland  !"  said  the  boy  ; 
"  credit  me  the  swaggering  vein  will  not  pass  here,  you 
must  cut  boon  whids."* 

"  I  think,  worshipful  sir,"  said  the  smith,  sinking  his 
hammer,  and  assuming  a  more  gentle  and  submissive 
tone  of  voice,  "  that  when  so  poor  a  man  does  his  day's 
job,  he  might  be  permitted  to  work  it  out  after  his  own 
fashion.  Your  horse  is  shod,  and  your  farrier  paid — 
What  need  you  cumber  yourself  further,  than  to  mount 
and  pursue  your  journey  ?" 

"  Nay,  friend,  you  are  mistaken,"  replied  Tressilian  ; 
"  every  man  has  a  right  to  take  the  mask  from  the  face  of 
a  cheat  and  a  juggler ;  and  your  mode  of  living  raises 
suspicion  that  you  are  both." 

"  If  you  are  so  determined,  sir,"  said  the  smith,  "  I 
cannot  help  myself  save  by  force,  which  I  were  unwilling 
to  use  towards  you,  Master  Tressilian ; — not  that  I  fear 
your  weapon,  but  because  I  know  you  to  be  a  worthy, 
kind,  and  well-accomplished  gentleman,  who  would  rath- 
er help  than  harm  a  poor  man  that  is  in  a  strait." 

"  Well  said,  Wayland,"  said  the  boy,  who  had  anxiously 
awaited  the  issue  of  their  conference.    "  But  let  us  to  thy 


*  "  Give  good  words" — Slang  dialed. 
12*     VOL,  I. 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


den,  man,  for  it  is  ill  for  thy  health  to  stand  here  talking 
in  the  open  air." 

"♦Thou  art  right,  Hobgoblin,"  replied  the  smith  ;  and 
going  to  the  little  thicket  of  gorse  on  the  side  nearest  to 
the  circle,  and  opposite  to  that  at  which  his  customer  had 
so  lately  couched,  he  discovered  a  trap-door  curiously 
covered  with  bushes,  raised  it,  and,  descending  into  the 
earth,  vanished  from  their  eyes.  Notwithstanding  Tres- 
silian's  curiosity,  he  had  some  hesitation  at  following  the 
fellow  into  what  might  be  a  den  of  robbers,  especially 
when  he  heard  the  smith's  voice,  issuing  from  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  call  out,  "  Flibbertigibbet,  do  you  come  last, 
and  be  sure  to  fasten  the  trap  !" 

"  Have  you  seen  enough  of  Wayland  Smith  now  ?" 
whispered  the  urchin  to  Tressilian,  with  an  arch  sneer 
as  if  marking  his  companion's  uncertainty. 

"  Not  yet,"  said  Tressilian  firmly,  and  shaking  off  his 
momentary  irresolution,  he  descended  into  the  narrow 
staircase  to  which  the  entrance  led,  and  was  followed 
by  Dickie  Sludge,  who  made  fast  the  trap-door  behind 
him,  and  thus  excluded  every  glimmer  of  daylight.  The 
descent,  however,  was  only  a  few  steps,  and  led  to  a  level 
passage  of  a  few  yards  length,  at  the  end  of  which  appear- 
ed the  reflection  of  a  lurid  and  red  light.  Arrived  at 
this  point,  with  his  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  Tressilian 
found  that  a  turn  to  the  left  admitted  him  and  Hobgoblin, 
who  followed  closely,  into  a  small  square  vault,  contain- 
ing a  smith's  forge  glowing  with  charcoal,  the  vapour  of 
which  filled  the  apartment  with  an  oppressive  smell,  which 
would  have  been  altogether  suffocating,  but  that  by  some 
concealed  vent  the  vault  communicated  with  the  upper 
air.  The  light  afforded  by  the  red  fuel,  and  by  a  lamp 
suspended  in  an  iron  chain,  served  to  show  that,  besides 
an  anvil,  bellows,  tongs,  hammers,  a  quantity  of  ready- 
made  horse-shoes,  and  other  articles  proper  to  the  pro- 
fession of  a  farrier,  there  were  also  stoves,  alembics,  cru- 
cibles, retorts,  and  other  instruments  of  alchemy.  The 
grotesque  figure  of  the  smith,  and  the  ugly  but  whimsical 
features  of  the  boy,  seen  by  the  gloomy  and  imperfect 


KENILWORTH. 


139 


light  of  the  charcoal-fire  and  the  dying  lamp,  accorded 
very  well  with  all  this  mystical  apparatus,  and  in  that  age 
of  superstition  would  have  made  some  impression  on  the 
courage  of  most  men. 

But  nature  had  endowed  Tressilian  wTith  firm  nerves, 
and  his  education,  originally  good,  had  been  too  sedu- 
lously improved  by  subsequent  study  to  give  way  to  any 
\  .imaginary  terrors;  and  after  giving  a  glance  around  him, 
he  again  demanded  of  the  artist  who  he  was,  and  by  what 
accident  he  came  to  know  and  address  him  by  his  name. 

"  Your  worship  cannot  but  remember,"  said  the  smith, 
"  that  about  three  year's  since,  upon  Saint  Lucy's  eve, 
there  came  a  travelling  juggler  to  a  certain  hall  in  Devon- 
shire, and  exhibited  his  skill  before  a  worshipful  knight 
and  a  fair  company — I  see  from  your  worship's  counte- 
nance, dark  as  this  place  is,  that  my  memory  has  not 
done  me  wrong." 

"  Thou  hast  said  enough,"  said  Tressilian,  turning 
away,  as  wishing  to  hide  from  the  speaker  the  painful 
train  of  recollections  which  his  discourse  had  unconscious- 
ly awakened. 

"  The  juggler,"  said  the  smith,  "  played  his  part  so 
bravely,  that  the  clowns  and  clown-like  squires  in  the 
company  held  his  art  to  be  little  less  than  magical ;  but 
there  was  one  maiden  of  fifteen,  or  thereby,  with  the  fair- 
est face  I  ever  looked  upon,  whose  rosy  cheek  grew  pale, 
and  her  bright  eye  dim,  at  the  sight  of  the  wonders  ex- 
hibited." 

"  Peace,  I  command  thee,  peace  !"  said  Tressilian. 

"  I  mean  your  worship  no  offence,"  said  the  fellow ; 
"  but  I  have  cause  to  remember  how,  to  relieve  the  young 
maiden's  fears,  you  condescended  to  point  out  the  mode 
in  which  these  deceptions  were  practised,  and  to  baffle 
the  poor  juggler  by  laying  bare  the  mysteries  of  his  art? 
as  ably  as  if  you  had  been  a  brother  of  his  order. — She 
was  indeed  so  fair  a  maiden,  that,  to  win  a  smile  of  her, 
a  man  might  well"  


140 


KEXILWORTH. 


"  Not  a  word  more  of  her,  I  charge  thee  !"  said  Tres- 
silian  ;  "  I  do  well  remember  the  night  you  speak  of — 
one  of  the  few  happy  evenings  my  life  has  known." 

"  She  is  gone,  then,"  said  the  smith,  interpreting  after 
his  own  fashion  the  sigh  with  which  Tressilian  uttered 
these  words — "  She  is  gone,  young,  beautiful,  and  belov- 
ed as  she  was  ! — I  crave  your  worship's  pardon — I  would 
have  hammered  on  another  theme — I  see  I  have  un- 
warily driven  the  nail  to  the  quick." 

This  speech  was  made  with  a  mixture  of  rude  feeling, 
which  inclined  Tressilian  favourably  to  the  poor  artizan, 
of  whom  before  he  was  inclined  to  judge  very  harshly. 
But  nothing  can  so  soon  attract  the  unfortunate,  as  real 
or  seeming  sympathy  with  their  sorrows. 

"  I  think,"  proceeded  Tressilian,  after  a  minute's 
silence,  "  thou  wert  in  those  days  a  jovial  fellow,  who 
could  keep  a  company  merry  by  song,  and  tale,  and  re- 
beck, as  well  as  by  thy  juggling  tricks — why  do  I  find 
thee  a  laborious  handicraftsman,  plying  thy  trade  in  so 
melancholy  a  dwelling,  and  under  such  extraordinary 
circumstances  ?" 

"  My  story  is  not  long,"  said  the  artist ;  "  but  your 
honour  had  better  sit  while  you  listen  to  it."  So  saying, 
he  approached  to  the  fire  a  three-footed  stool,  and  took 
another  himself,  while  Dickie  Sludge,  or  Flibbertigibbet, 
as  he  called  the  boy,  drew  a  cricket  to  the  smith's  feet, 
and  looked  up  in  his  face  with  features  which,  as  illumina- 
ted with  the  glow  of  the  forge,  seemed  convulsed  with 
intense  curiosity — "  Thou  too,"  said  the  smith  to  him, 
"  shalt  learn,  as  thou  well  deservest  at  my  hand,  the  brief 
history  of  my  life  ;  and,  in  troth,  it  were  as  well  tell  it 
thee  as  leave  thee  to  ferret  it  out,  since  Nature  never 
packed  a  shrewder  wit  into  a  more  ungainly  casket. — 
Well,  sir,  if  my  poor  story  may  pleasure  you,  it  is  at  your 
command — But  will  you  not  taste  a  stoup  of  liquor  ?  I 
promise  you  that  even  in  this  poor  cell  I  have  some  in 
store." 

"  Speak  not  of  it,"  said  Tressilian,  "  but  go  on  with 
thy  story,  for  my  leisure  is  brief." 


KENIX  WORTH. 


141 


"  You  shall  have  no  cause  to  rue  the  delay,"  said  the 
smith,  "  for  your  horse  shall  be  better  fed  in  the  mean- 
time, than  he  hath  been  this  morning,  and  made  fitter  for 
travel." 

With  that  the  artist  left  the  vault,  and  returned  after  a 
few  minutes  interval.  Here,  also,  we  pause,  that  the 
narrative  may  commence  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

I  say,  my  lord,  can  such  a  subtlety 
( But  all  his  craft  ye  must  not  wot  of  me, 
And  somewhat  help  I  yet  to  his  working) 
That  all  the  ground  on  which  we  ben  riding, 

Till  that  we  come  to  Canterbury  town, 

He  can  all  clean  turnen  so  up  so  down, 

And  pave  it  all  of  silver  and  of  gold. 

The  Canon's  Yeoman's  Prologue — Canterbury  Tales. 

The  artist  resumed  his  narrative  in  the  following 
terms  : — 

"  I  was  bred  a  blacksmith,  and  knew  my  art  as  well 
as  e'er  a  black-thumb'd  leathern-apron'd  swart-faced 
knave  of  that  noble  mystery.  But  I  tired  of,  ringing 
hammer-tunes  on  iron  stithies,  and  went  out  into  the 
world,  where  I  became  acquainted  with  a  celebrated  jug- 
gler, whose  fingers  had  become  rather  too  stiff  for  legerde- 
main, and  who  wished  to  have  the  aid  of  an  apprentice  in 
his  noble  mystery.  I  served  him  for  six  years  until  I  was 
master  of  my  trade — I  refer  myself  to  your  worship, 
whose  judgment  cannot  be  disputed,  whether  I  did  not 
learn  to  play  the  craft  indifferently  well  ?" 

"  Excellently,"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  but  be  brief." 

"  It  was  not  long  after  I  had  performed  at  Sir  Hugh 
Robsart's,  in  your  worship's  presence,"  said  the  artist, 


142 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  that  I  took  myself  to  the  stage,  and  have  swaggered 
with  the  bravest  of  them  all,  both  at  the  Black  Bull,  the 
Globe,  the  Fortune,  and  elsewhere  ;  but  I  know  not  how 
—apples  were  so  plenty  that  year,  that  the  lads  in  the 
two-penny  gallery  never  took  more  than  one  bite  out  of 
them,  and  threw  the  rest  of  the  pippin  at  whatsoever  actor 
chanced  to  be  on  the  stage.  So  I  tired  of  it — renounc- 
ed my  half  share  in  the  company — gave  my  foil  to  my 
comrade — my  buskins  to  the  wardrobe,  and  showed  the 
theatre  a  clean  pair  of  heels." 

"  Well,  friend,  and  what,"  said  Tressilian,  "  was  your 
next  shift  ?" 

"  I  became,"  said  the  smith,  "  half  partner,  half  do- 
mestic, to  a  man  of  much  skill  and  little  substance,  who 
practised  the  trade  of  a  physicianer." 

"  In  other  words,"  said  Tressilian,  "  you  were  Jack 
Pudding  to  a  quack  salver." 

"  Something  beyond  that,  let  me  hope,  my  good  Master 
Tressilian,"  replied  the  artist ;  "  and  yet,  to  say  truth, 
our  practice  was  of  an  adventurous  description,  and  the 
pharmacy  which  I  had  acquired  in  my  first  studies  for  the 
benefit  of  horses,  was  frequently  applied  to  our  human 
patients.  But  the  seeds  of  all  maladies  are  the  same  ; 
and  if  turpentine,  tar,  pitch,  and  beef-suet,  mingled  witK 
tumeric,  gum-mastick,  and  one  head  of  garlick,  can  cure 
the  horse  that  hath  been  grieved  with  a  nail,  I  see  riot 
but  what  it  may  benefit  the  man  that  hath  been  pricked 
with  a  sword.  But  my  master's  practice,  as  well  as  his 
skill,  went  far  beyond  mine,  and  dealt  in  more  dangerous 
concerns.  He  was  not  only  a  bold  adventurous  practi- 
tioner in  physic,  but  also,  if  your  pleasure  so  chanced  to 
be,  an  adept,  who  read  the  stars  and  expounded  the  for- 
tunes of  mankind,  genethliacally,  as  he  called  it,  or  other- 
wise. He  was  a  learned  distiller  of  simples,  and  a  pro- 
found chemist — made  several  efforts  to  fix  mercury,  and 
judged  himself  to  have  made  a  fair  hit  at  the  philosopher's 
stone.  I  have  yet  a  program  of  his  on  that  subject, 
which  if  your  honour  understandeth,  I  believe  you  have 


i 


KENILWORTH. 


the  better,  not  only  of  all  who  read,  but  also  of  him  who 
wrote  it." 

He  gave  Tressilian  a  scroll  of  parchment,  bearing  at 
top  and  bottom,  and  down  the  margin,  the  signs  of  the 
seven  planets,  curiously  intermingled  with  talismanical 
characters  and  scraps  of  Greek  and  Hebrew.  In  the 
midst  were  some  Latin  verses  from  a  cabalistical  author, 
written  out  so  fairly,  that  even  the  gloom  of  the  place  did 
not  prevent  Tressilian  from  reading  them.  The  tenor 
of  the  original  ran  as  follows  : — 

1  Si  fixum  solvas,  faciasque  volare  solutum, 
Et  volucrem  figas,  facient  te  vivere  tutum, 
Si  pariat  ventum,  valet  aure  pondere  centum 
Ventus  ubi  vult  spirat — Capiat  qui  capere  potest/ 

"  I  protest  to  you,"  said  Tressilian,  "  all  I  understand 
of  this  jargon,  is,  that  the  last  words  seem  to  mean  6  Catch 
who  catch  can.' " 

"  That,"  said  the  smith,  "  is  the  very  principle  that 
my  worthy  friend  and  master,  Doctor  Doboobie,  always 
acted  upon ;  until,  being  besotted  with  his  own  imagina- 
tions, and  conceited  of  his  high  chemical  skill,  he  began 
to  spend  in  cheating  himself  the  money  wThich  he  had 
acquired  in  cheating  others,  and  either  discovered  or 
built  for  himself,  I  could  never  know  which,  this  secret 
,  elaboratory,  in  which  he  used  to  seclude  himself  both  from 
patients  and  disciples,  who  doubtless  thought  his  long 
and  mysterious  absences  from  his  ordinary  residence  in 
the  town  of  Farringdon,  were  occasioned  by  his  pro- 
gress in  the  mystic  sciences,  and  his  intercourse  with 
the  invisible  world.  Me  also  he  tried  to  deceive ;  but 
though  I  contradicted  him  not,  he  saw  that  I  knew  too 
much  of  his  secrets  to  be  any  longer  a  safe  companion. 
Meanwhile  his  name  waxed  famous,  or  rather  infamous, 
and  many  of  those  who  resorted  to  him  did  so  under  per- 
suasion that  he  was  a  sorcerer.  And  yet  his  supposed 
advance  in  the  occult  sciences,  drew  to  him  the  secret  re- 
sort of  men  too  powerful  to  be  named,  for  purposes  too 
dangerous  to  be  mentioned.    Men  cursed  and  threatened 


144 


KENIL  WORTH. 


him,  and  bestowed  on  me  the  innocent  assistant  of  his 
studies,  the  nickname  of  the  devil's  foot-post,  which  pro- 
cured me  a  volley  of  stones  as  soon  as  ever  I  ventured  to 
show  my  face  in  the  street  of  the  village.  At  length,  my 
master  suddenly  disappeared,  pretending  to  me  that  he  was 
about  to  visit  his  elaboratory  in  this  place,  and  discharg- 
ing me  to  disturb  him  till  two  days  were  past.  When 
this  period  had  elapsed,  I  became  anxious,  and  resorted 
to  this  vault,  where  I  found  the  fires  extinguished  and  the 
utensils  in  confusion,  with  a  note  from  the  learned  Doboo- 
bius,  as  he  was  wont  to  style  himself,  acquainting  me 
that  we  should  never  meet  again,  bequeathing  me  his 
chemical  apparatus,  and  the  parchment  which  I  have  just 
put  into  your  hands,  advising  me  strongly  to  prosecute 
the  secret  which  it  contained,  which  would  infallibly  lead 
me  to  the  discovery  of  the  grand  magisterium." 

"  And  didst  thou  follow  this  sage  advice  ?"  said  Tres- 
silian. 

«  Worshipful  sir,  no,"  replied  the  smith  ;  "  for  being 
by  nature  cautious  and  suspicious,  from  knowing  with 
whom  I  had  to  do,  I  made  so  many  perquisitions  before 
I  ventured  even  to  light  a  fire,  that  I  at  length  discovered 
a  small  barrel  of  gunpowder,  carefully  hid  beneath  the 
furnace,  with  the  purpose,  no  doubt,  that  as  soon  as  I 
should  commence  the  grand  work  of  the  transmutation  of 
metals,  the  explosion  should  transmute  the  vault  and  all  in 
it  into  a  heap  of  ruins,  which  might  serve  at  once  for  my 
slaughter-house  and  my  grave.  This  cured  me  of  alche- 
my, and  fain  would  I  have  returned  to  the  honest  ham- 
mer and  anvil ;  but  who  would  bring  a  horse  to  be  shoed 
by  the  devil's  post  ?  Meantime,  I  had  won  the  regard  of 
my  honest  Flibbertigibbet  here,  he  being  then  at  Farring- 
don  with  his  master,  the  sage  Erasmus  Holiday,  by  teach- 
ing him  a  few  secrets,  such  as  please  youth  at  his  age  ; 
and  after  much  counsel  together,  we  agreed,  that  since  I 
could  get  no  practice  in  the  ordinary  way,  I  should  try 
how  I  could  work  out  business  among  these  ignorant 
boors,  by  practising  upon  their  silly  fears,  and  thanks  to 
Flibbertigibbet  who  hath  spread  my  renown,  I  have  not 


KENII/WORTH. 


145 


wanted  custom.  But  it  is  won  at  too  great  risk,  and  I  fear 
I  shall  be  at  length  taken  up  for  a  wizard  ;  so  that  I  seek 
but  an  opportunity  to  leave  this  vault  when  I  can  have 
the  protection  of  some  worshipful  person  against  the  fury 
of  the  populace,  in  case  they  chance  to  recognize  me." 

"  And  art  thou,"  said  Tressilian,  "  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  roads  in  this  country." 

"  I  could  ride  them  every  inch  by  midnight,"  answer- 
ed Wayland  Smith,  which  was  the  name  this  adept  had 
adopted. 

"  Thou  hast  no  horse  to  ride  upon,"  said  Tressilian. 
•  "  Pardon  me,"  replied  Wayland  ;  "  I  have  as  good  a 
tit  as  ever  yeoman  bestrode  ;  and  I  forgot  to  say  it  was 
the  best  part  of  the  mediciner's  legacy  to  me,  excepting 
one  or  two  of  his  medical  secrets,  which  I  picked  up 
without  his  knowledge  and  against  his  will." 

"  Get  thyself  washed  and  shaved  then,"  said  Tressil- 
ian ;  "  reform  thy  dress  as  well  as  thou  canst,  and  fling 
away  these  grotesque  trappings ;  and  so  thou  wilt  be  se- 
cret and  faithful,  thou  shalt  follow  me  for  a  short  time, 
till  thy  pranks  are  here  forgotten.  Thou  hast,  I  think, 
both  address  and  courage,  and  I  have  matter  to  do  that 
may  require  both." 

Wayland  Smith  eagerly  embraced  the  proposal,  and 
protested  his  devotion  to  his  new  master.  In  a  very  few 
minutes  he  had  made  so  great  a  change  in  his  original 
appearance,  by  change  of  dress,  trimming  his  beard  and 
hair  and  so  forth,  that  Tressilian  could  not  help  remark- 
ing, that  he  thought  he  would  stand  in  little  need  of  a 
protector,  since  none  of  his  old  acquaintance  was  like 
to  recognize  him. 

"  My  debtors  would  not  pay  me  money,"  said  Way- 
land,  shaking  his  head  ;  "  but  my  creditors  of  every  kind 
would  be  less  easily  blinded.  And  in  truth,  I  hold  my- 
self not  safe,  unless  under  the  protection  of  a  gentleman 
of  birth  and  character,  as  that  of  your  worship." 

So  saying,  he  led  the  way  out  of  the  cavern.  He  then 
called  loudly  for  Hobgoblin,  who,  after  lingering  for  an 
13    voi,.  i. 


146 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


instant,  appeared  with  the  horse  furniture,  when  Way- 
land  closed,  and  sedulously  covered  up  the  trap-door, 
observing,  it  might  again  serve  him  at  his  need,  besides 
that  the  tools  were  worth  somewhat.  A  whistle  from 
the  owner  brought  to  his  side  a  nag  that  fed  quietly  on 
the  common,  and  was  accustomed  to  the  signal.  While 
he  accoutred  him  for  the  journey,  Tressilian  drew  his 
own  girths  faster,  and  in  a  few  minutes  both  were  ready 
to  mount. 

At  this  moment  Sludge  approached  to  bid  them  fare- 
well. 

"  You  are  going  to  leave  me  then,  my  old  play-fellow," 
said  the  boy ;  "and  there  is  an  end  of  all  our  game  at 
bopeep  with  the  cowardly  lubbards  whom  I  have  brought 
hither  to  have  their  broad-footed  nags  shod  by  the  devil 
and  his  imps." 

"  It  is  even  so,"  said  Wayland  Smith  ;  "  the  best  friends 
must  part,  Flibbertigibbet ;  but  thou,  my  boy,  art  the  only 
thing  in  the  Vale  of  Whitehorse  which  I  shall  regret  to 
leave  behind  me." 

"  Well,  I  bid  thee  not  farewell,"  said  Dickie  Sludge, 
"  for  you  will  be  at  these  revels,  I  judge,  and  so  shall  I ; 
for  if  Dominie  Holiday  take  me  not  thither,  by  the  light 
of  day,  which  we  see  not  in  yonder  dark  hole,  I  will  take 
myself  there  !" 

"  In  good  time,"  said  Wayland  ;  "  but  I  pray  you  do 
-nought  rashly. 

"  Nay,  now  you  would  make  a  child — a  common  child 
of  me,  and  tell  me  of  the  risk  of  walking  without  leading 
strings.  But  before  you  are  a  mile  from  these  stones, 
you  shall  know,  by  a  sure  token,  that  I  have  more  of  the 
hobgoblin  about  me  than  you  credit ;  and  I  will  so  man- 
age, that,  if  you  take  advantage,  you  may  profit  by  my 
prank." 

"  What  dost  thou  mean,  boy  ?"  said  Tressilian ;  but 
Flibbertigibbet  only  answered  with  a  grin  and  a  caper, 
and  bidding  both  of  them  farewell,  and  at  the  same  time 
exhorting  them  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  from  the 
place,  he  set  them  the  example  by  running  homeward 


KENILWOUTII. 


147 


with  the  same  uncommon  velocity  with  which  he  had 
baffled  Tressilian's  former  attempts  to  get  hold  of  him. 

« It  is  in  vain  to  chase  him,"  said  Wayland  Smith  ; 
"  for  unless  your  worship  is  expert  in  lark-hunting,  we 
should  never  catch  hold  of  him — and  besides  what  would 
it  avail  ?  Better  make  the  best  of  our  way  hence,  as  he 
advises." 

They  mounted  their  horses  accordingly,  and  began  to 
proceed  at  a  round  pace,  as  soon  as  Tressilian  had  ex- 
plained to  his  guide  the  road  in  which  he  desired  to 
travel. 

After  they  had  trotted  nearly  a  mile,  Tressilian  could 
not  help  observing  to  his  companion,  that  his  horse  felt 
more  lively  under  him  than  even  when  he  mounted  in  the 
morning. 

"Are  you  advised  of  that?"  said  Wayland  Smith, 
smiling.  "  That  is  owing  to  a  little  secret  of  mine.  I 
mixed  that  with  an  handful  of  oats  which  shall  save  your 
worship's  heels  the  trouble  of  spurring  these  six  hours  at 
least.  Nay  I  have  not  studied  medicine  and  pharmacy 
for  nought." 

"  I  trust,"  said  Tressilian, "  your  drugs  will  do  my 
horse  no  harm." 

"  No  more  than  the  mare's  milk  which  foaled  him," 
answered  the  artist ;  and  was  proceeding  to  dilate  on  the 
excellence  of  his  recipe,  when  he  was  interrupted  by  an 
explosion  as  loud  and  tremendous  as  the  mine  which 
blows  up  the  rampart  of  a  beleaguered  city.  The  horses 
started,  and  the  riders  were  equally  surprised.  They 
turned  to  gaze  in  the  direction  from  which  the  thunder- 
clap was  heard,  and  beheld  just  over  the  spot  they  had 
left  so  recently,  a  huge  pillar  of  dark  smoke  rising  high 
into  the  clear  blue  atmosphere.  "  My  habitation  is  gone 
to  wrack,"  said  Wayland,  immediately  conjecturing  the 
cause  of  the  explosion — "  I  was  a  fool  to  mention  the 
doctor's  kind  intention  towards  my  mansion  before  that 
limb  of  mischief  Flibbertigibbet — I  might  have  guessed 
he  would  long  to  put  so  rare  a  frolic  in  execution.  But 


148 


IvE  NIL  WORTH* 


let  us  hasten  on,  for  the  sound  will  collect  the  country  to 
the  spot." 

So  saying,  he  spurred  his  horse,  and  Tressilian  also 
quickening  his  speed,  they  rode  briskly  forward. 

This  then,  was  the  meaning  of  the  little  imp's  token 
which  he  promised  us,"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  had  we  lin- 
gered near  the  spot  we  had  found  it  a  love-token  with  a 
vengeance." 

"  He  would  have  given  us  warning,"  said  the  smith ; 
"  I  saw  him  look  back  more  than  once  to  see  if  we  were 
off—  'tis  a  very  devil  for  mischief,  yet  not  an  ill-natur'd 
devil  either.  It  were  long  to  tell  your  honour  how  I  be- 
came first  acquainted  with  him,  and  how  many  tricks  he 
played  me.  Many  a  good  turn  he  did  me  too,  especially 
in  bringing  me  customers  ;  for  his  great  delight  was  to 
see  them  sit  shivering  behind  the  bushes  when  they  heard 
the  click  of  my  hammer.  I  think  Dame  Nature,  when 
she  lodged  a  double  quantity  of  brains  in  that  misshapen 
head  of  his,  gave  him  the  power  of  enjoying  other  peo- 
ple's distresses,  as  she  gave  them  the  pleasure  of  laughing 
at  his  ugliness." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Tressilian  ;  "  those  who  find 
themselves  severed  from  society  by  peculiarities  of  form, 
if  they  do  not  hate  the  common  bulk  of  mankind,  are  at 
least  not  altogether  indisposed  to  enjoy  their  mishaps  and 
calamities." 

"  But  Flibbertigibbet,"  answered  Wayland,  "  hath  that 
about  him  which  may  redeem  his  turn  for  mischievous 
frolic  ;  for  he  is  as  faithful  when  attached,  as  he  is  tricky 
and  malignant  to  strangers ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  I  have 
cause  to  say  so." 

Tressilian  pursued  the  conversation  no  farther  ;  and 
they  continued  their  journey  towards  Devonshire  without 
farther  adventure,  until  they  alighted  at  an  inn  in  the  town 
of  Marlborough,  since  celebrated  for  having  given  title  to 
the  greatest  General  (excepting  one)  whom  Britain  ever 
produced.  Here  the  travellers  received,  in  the  same 
breath,  an  example  of  the  truth  of  two  old  proverbs, 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


149 


namely,  that  ill  news  fly  fast,  and  that  listeners  seldom 
hear  a  good  tale  of  themselyes. 

The  inn-yard  was  in  a  sort  of  combustion  when  they 
alighted  ;  insomuch  that  they  could  scarce  get  man  or 
boy  to  take  care  of  their  horses,  so  full  were  the  whole 
household  of  some  news  which  flew  from  tongue  to  tongue, 
the  import  of  which  they  were  for  some  time  unable  to 
discover.  At  length,  indeed,  they  found  it  respected 
matters  which  touched  them  nearly. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  say  you,  master  ?"  answered,  at 
length,  the  head  hostler,  in  reply  to  Tressilian's  repeated 
questions — "  Why,  truly,  I  scarce  know  myself.  But 
here  was  a  rider  but  now,  who  says  that  the  devil  hath 
flown  away  with  him  they  called  Wayland  Smith,  that 
wonn'd  about  three  miles  from  the  Whitehorse  of  Berk- 
shire, this  very  blessed  morning,  in  a  flash  of  fire  and  a 
pillar  of  smoke,  and  rooted  up  the  place  he  dwelt  in,  near 
that  old  cock-pit  of  upright  stones,  as  cleanly  as  if  it  had 
all  been  delved  up  for  a  cropping." 

"  Why,  then,"  said  an  old  farmer,  "  the  more  is  the 
pity — for  that  Wayland  Smith  (whether  he  was  the  devil's 
crony  or  no  I  skill  not,)  had  a  good  notion  of  horse  dis- 
eases, and  it's  to  be  thought  the  bots  will  spread  in  the 
country  far  and  near,  an  Satan  has  not  gi'en  un  time  to 
leave  his  secret  behind  un." 

"  You  may  say  that,  Gaffer  Grimesby,"  said  the  host- 
ler, in  return  ;  "I  have  carried  a  horse  to  Wayland  Smith 
myself,  for  he  passed  all  farriers  in  this  country." 

"  Did  you  see  him  ?"  said  Dame  Alison  Crane,  mis- 
tress of  the  inn  bearing  that  sign,  and  deigning  to  term 
husband  the  owner  thereof,  an  insignificant  hop-o'-my- 
thumb  sort  of  person,  whose  halting  gait,  and  long  neck, 
and  meddling  hen-pecked  insignificance,  are  supposed  to 
have  given  origin  to  the  celebrated  old  English  tune  of 
"  My  Dame  hath  a  lame  tame  Crane." 

On  this  occasion  he  chirp'd  out  a  repetition  of  his  wife's 
question,  "  Did'st  see  the  devil,  Jack  Hostler,  I  say  ?" 

13*     VOL.  I. 


150 


KENILWORTH. 


"  And  what  if  I  did  see  un,  Master  Crane  ?"  replied 
Jack  Hostler, — for,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  household  he 
paid  as  little  respect  to  his  master  as  his  mistress  her- 
self did. 

"  Nay,  nought,  Jack  Hostler,"  replied  the  pacific  Mas- 
ter Crane,  "  only  if  you  saw  the  devil,  methinks  I  would 
like  to  know  what  un's  like  ?" 

"  You  will  know  that  one  day,  Master  Crane,"  said 
his  helpmate,  "  an'  ye  mend  not  your  manners,  and  mind 
your  business,  leaving  off  such  idle  palabras — But  truly, 
Jack  Hostler,  I  should  be  glad  to  know  myself  what  like 
the  fellow  was." 

"  Why,  Dame,"  said  the  hostler,  more  respectfully, 
"  as  for  what  he  was  like  I  cannot  tell,  nor  no  man  else, 
for  why  I  never  saw  un." 

"  And  how  did'st  thou  get  thine  errand  done,"  said 
Gaffer  Grimesby,  "  if  thou  seed'st  him  not  ?" 

"  Why,  I  had  schoolmaster  to  write  down  ailment  o' 
nag,"  said  Jack  Hostler  ;  "  and  I  went  wi'  the  ugliest  slip 
of  a  boy  for  my  guide  as  ever  man  cut  out  o'  lime-tree 
root  to  please  a  child  withal." 

"  And  what  was  it  ? — and  did  it  cure  your  nag,  Jack 
Hostler  ?" — was  uttered  and  echoed  by  all  who  stood 
arbund. 

"  Why,  how  can  I  tell  you  what  it  was  ?"  said  the  hos- 
tler ;  "  simply  it  smelled  and  tasted — for  I  did  make  bold 
to  put  a  pea's  substance  into  my  mouth — like  hartshorn 
and  savin  mixed  with  vinegar — but  then  no  hartshorn  and 
savin  ever  wrought  so  speedy  a  cure — And  I  am  dreading 
that  if  Wayland  Smith  be  gone,  the  bots  will  have  more 
power  over  horse  and  cattle." 

The  pride  of  art,  which  is  certainly  not  inferior  in  its 
influence  to  any  other  pride  whatsoever,  here  so  far  op- 
erated on  Wayland  Smith,  that,  notwithstanding  the  ob- 
vious danger  of  his  being  recognized,  he  could  not  help 
winking  to  Tressilian,  and  smiling  mysteriously,  as  if  tri- 
umphing in  the  undoubted  evidence  of  his  veterinary  skill. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  discourse  continued. 


KEN  IX  WORTH. 


151 


M  E'en  let  it  be  so,"  said  a  grave  man  in  black,  the 
companion  of  Gaffer  Grimesby  ;  "  e'en  let  us  perish  un- 
der the  evil  God  sends  us,  rather  than  the  devil  be  our 
doctor." 

"  Very  true,"  said  Dame  Crane  ;  "  and  I  marvel  at 
Jack  Hostler  that  he  would  peril  his  own  soul  to  cure  the 
bowels  of  a  nag." 

"  Very  true,  mistress,"  said  Jack  Hostler,  "  but  the 
nag  was  my  master's  ;  and  had  it  been  your's,  I  think  ye 
would  ha'  held  me  cheap  enow  an  I  had  feared  the  devil 
when  the  poor  beast  was  in  such  a  taking — For  the  rest, 
let  the  clergy  look  to  it.  Every  man  to  his  craft,  says 
the  proverb  ;  the  parson  to  the  prayer-book,*  and  the 
groom  to  his  curry-comb." 

"  I  vow,"  said  Dame  Crane,  "  I  think  Jack  Hostler 
speaks  like  a  good  Christian  and  a  faithful  servant,  who 
will  spare  neither  body  nor  soul  in  his  master's  service. 
However,  the  devil  has  lifted  him  in  time,  for  a  constable 
of  the  Hundred  came  hither  this  morning  to  get  old  Gaf- 
fer Pinniewinks  the  trier  of  witches,  to  go  with  him  to  the 
Vale  of  Whitehorse  to  comprehend  Wayland  Smith,  and 
put  him  to  his  probation.  I  helped  Pinniewinks  to  sharp- 
en his  pincers  and  his  poking-awl,  and  I  saw  the  warrant 
from  Justice  Blindas." 

"  Pooh — pooh — the  devil  would  laugh  both  at  Blindas 
and  his  warrant,  constable,  and  witch-finder  to  boot,"  said 
old  Dame  Crank,  the  papist  laundress  ;  "  Wayland 
Smith's  flesh  would  mind  Pinniewink's  awl  no  more  than 
a  cambric  ruff  minds  a  hot  piccadilloe-needle.  But  tell 
me,  gentle-folks,  if  the  devil  ever  had  such  a  hand  among 
ye,  as  to  snatch  away  your  smiths  and  your  artists  from 
under  your  nose,  when  the  good  Abbots  of  Abingdon  had 
their  own.  By  Our  Lady,  no  ! — they  had  their  hallow- 
ed tapers,  and  their  holy  water,  and  their  relics  and  what 
not,  could  send  the  foulest  fiends  a-packing. — Go  ask  a 
heretic  parson  to  do  the  like — But  ours  were  a  comfort- 
able people." 


152 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


"  Very  true,  Dame  Crank,"  said  the  hostler  ;  "  so  said 
Simpkins  of  Simonburn  when  the  curate  kissed  his  wife, 
— '  They  are  a  comfortable  people,'  said  he." 

"  Silence,  thou  foul-mouthed  vermin,"  said  Dame 
Crank  ;  "  is  it  fit  for  a  heretic  horse-boy  like  thee,  to 
handle  such  a  text  as  the  Catholic  clergy  ?" 

"  In  troth  no,  dame,"  replied  the  man  of  oats  ;  "  and 
as  you  yourself  are  now  no  text  for  their  handling,  dame, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  case  in  your  day,  I  think 
we  had  e'en  better  leave  un  alone." 

At  this  last  exchange  of  sarcasm,  Dame  Crank  set  up 
her  throat,  and  began  a  horrible  exclamation  against  Jack 
Hostler,  under  cover  of  which  Tressilian  and  his  attendant 
escaped  into  the  house. 

They  had  no  sooner  entered  a  private  chamber,  to 
which  Goodman  Crane  himself  had  condescended  to 
usher  them,  and  despatched  their  worthy  and  obsequious 
host  on  the  errand  of  procuring  wine  and  refreshment,  than 
Wayland  Smith,  began  to  give  vent  to  his  self-importance. 

"  You  see,  sir,"  said  he,  addressing  Tressilian,  "  that  I 
nothing  fabled  in  asserting  that  I  possessed  fully  the  mighty 
mystery  of  a  farrier,  or  mareschal,  as  the  French  more 
honourably  term  us.  These  dog-hostlers,  who,  after  all, 
are  the  better  judges  in  such  a  case,  know  what  credit 
they  should  attach  to  my  medicaments.  I  call  you  to  wit- 
ness, worshipful  Master  Tressilian,  that  nought,  save  the 
voice  of  calumny  and  the  hand  of  malicious  violence, 
hath  driven  me  forth  from  a  station  in  which  I  held  a  place 
alike  useful  and  honoured." 

"  I  bear  witness,  my  friend,  but  will  reserve  my  listen- 
ing," answered  Tressilian,  "  for  a  safer  time  ;  unless,  in- 
deed, you  deem  it  essential  to  your  reputation,  to  be  trans- 
lated, like  your  late  dwelling,  by  the  assistance  of  a  flash 
of  fire.  For  you  see  your  best  friends  reckon  you  no 
better  than  a  mere  sorcerer." 

"  Now  heaven  forgive  them,"  said  the  artist,  u  who 
confound  learned  skill  with  unlawful  magic  !  I  trust  a  man 
may  be  as  skilful,  or  more  so,  than  the  best  chirurgeon 
ever  meddled  with  horse-flesh,  and  yet,  may  be,  upon  the 


KENILWORTH. 


153 


matter  little  more  than  other  ordinary  men,  or  at  the  worst 
no  conjuror." 

«  God  forbid  else  !"  said  Tressilian.  "  But  be  silent 
just  for  the  present,  since  here  comes  mine  host  with  an 
assistant,  who  seems  something  of  the  least." 

Every  body  about  the  inn,  Dame  Crank  herself  includ- 
ed, had  been  indeed  so  interested  and  agitated  by  the 
story  they  had  heard  of  Wayland  Smith,  and  by  the  new, 
varying,  and  more  marvellous  editions  of  the  incident, 
which  arrived  from  various  quarters,  that  mine  host  in  his 
righteous  determination  to  accommodate  his  guests,  had 
been  able  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  none  of  his  house- 
hold saving  that  of  a  little  boy,  a  junior  tapster,  of  about 
twelve  years  old,  who  was  called  Sampson. 

"  I  wish,"  he  said,  apologizing  to  his  guests,  as  he  set 
down  a  flagon  of  sack,  and  promised  some  food  immedi- 
ately,— "  I  wish  the  devil  had  flown  away  with  my  wife 
and  my  whole  family  instead  of  this  Wayland  Smith,  who, 
I  dare  say,  after  all  said  and  done,  was  much  less  worthy 
of  the  distinction  that  Satan  has  done  him." 

"  1  hold  opinion  with  you,  good  fellow,"  replied  Way- 
land  Smith  ;  "  and  I  will  drink  to  you  upon  that  argu- 
ment." 

"  Not  that  I  would  justify  any  man  who  deals  with  the 
devil,"  said  mine  host,  after  having  pledged  Wayland  in 
a  rousing  draught  of  sack,  "  but  that — Saw  ye  ever  bet- 
ter sack,  my  masters  ? — but  that,  I  say,  a  man  had  better 
deal  with  a  dozen  cheats  and  scoundrel  fellows,  such  as 
this  Wayland  Smith,  rather  than  with  a  devil  incarnate, 
that  takes  possession  of  house  and  home,  bed  and  board." 

The  poor  fellow's  detail  of  grievances  was  here  inter- 
rupted by  the  shrill  voice  of  his  helpmate,  screaming  from 
the  kitchen,  to  which  he  instantly  hobbled,  craving  pardon 
of  his  guests.  He  was  no  sooner  gone,  than  Wayland 
Smith  expressed,  by  every  contemptuous  epithet  in  the 
language,  his  utter  scorn  for  a  nincompoop,  who  stuck  his 
head  under  his  wife's  apron-string  ;  and  intimated,  that, 
saving  for  the  sake  of  the  horses,  which  required  both 
rest  and  food,  he  would  advise  his  worshipful  Master 


154 


KEIVILWORTH. 


Tressilian  to  push  on  a  stage  farther,  rather  than  pay  a 
reckoning  to  such  a  mean-spirited,  crow- trod  den,  hen- 
pecked, coxcomb,  as  Gaffer  Crane. 

The  arrival  of  a  large  dish  of  good  cow-heel  and  ba- 
con, something  soothed  the  asperity  of  the  artist,  which 
wholly  vanished  before  a  choice  capon,  so  delicately  roast- 
ed, that  the  lard  frothed  on  it,  said  Wayland,  like  May- 
dew  on  a  lily  ;  and  both  Gaffer  Crane  and  his  good  dame 
became,  in  his  eyes,  very  pains-taking,  accommodating, 
obliging  persons. 

According  to  the  manners  of  the  times,  the  master  and 
his  attendant  sat  at  the  same  table,  and  the  latter  observ- 
ed with  regret,  how  little  attention  Tressilian  paid  to  his 
meal.  He  recollected,  indeed,  the  pain  he  had  given  by 
mentioning  the  maiden  in  whose  company  he  had  first 
seen  him  ;  but,  fearful  of  touching  upon  a  topic  too  ten- 
der to  be  tampered  with,  he  chose  to  ascribe  his  absti- 
nence to  another  cause. 

"  This  fare  is  perhaps  too  coarse  for  your  worship," 
said  Wayland,  as  the  limbs  of  the  capon  disappeared  be- 
fore his  own  exertions  ;  "  but  had  you  dwelt  as  long  as  I 
have  done  in  yonder  dungeon,  which  Flibbertigibbet  has 
translated  to  the  upper  element,  a  place  where  I  dared 
hardly  broil  my  food,  lest  the  smoke  should  be  seen  with- 
out, you  would  think  a  fair  capon  a  more  welcome  dainty." 

"  If  you  are  pleased,  friend,"  said  Tressilian,  "  it  is 
well.  Nevertheless,  hasten  thy  meal  if  thou  canst,  for 
this  place  is  unfriendly  to  thy  safety,  and  my  concerns^ 
crave  travelling." 

Allowing,  therefore,  their  horses  no  more  rest  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  for  them,  they  pursued  their  journey 
by  a  forced  march  as  far  as  Bradford,  where  they  repos- 
ed themselves  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  found  them  early  travellers.  And, 
not  to  fatigue  the  reader  with  unnecessary  particulars,  they 
traversed  without  adventure  the  counties  of  Wiltshire  and 
Somerset,  and  about  noon  of  the  third  day  after  Tressil- 
ian's  leaving  Cumnor,  arrived  at  Sir  Hugh  Robsart's  seat, 
called  Lidcote  Hall,  on  the  frontiers  of  Devonshire. 


KENIIiWORTH. 


155 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Ah  me  !  the  flower  and  blossom  of  your  house, 
The  wind  hath  blown  away  to  other  towers. 

Joanna  Baillie's  Famihj  Legend. 

The  ancient  seat  of  Liclcote  Hall  was  situated  near 
the  village  of  the  same  name,  and  adjoined  to  the  wild 
and  extensive  forest  of  Exmoor,  plentifully  stocked  with 
game,  in  which  some  ancient  rights  belonging  to  the  Rob- 
sart  family,  entitled  Sir  Hugh  to  pursue  his  favourite 
amusement  of  the  chase.  The  old  mansion  was  a  low, 
venerable  building,  occupying  a  considerable  space  of 
ground,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  deep  moat.  The 
approach  and  drawbridge  were  defended  by  an  octagonal 
tower,  of  ancient  brick-work,  but  so  clothed  with  ivy  and 
other  creepers,  that  it  was  difficult  to  discover  of  what 
materials  it  was  constructed.  The  angles  of  this  tower 
were  each  decorated  with  a  turret,  whimsically  various  in 
form  and  in  size,  and,  therefore,  very  unlike  the  monot- 
onous stone  pepper-boxes,  which,  in  modern  Gothic  archi- 
tecture, are  employed  for  the  same  purpose.  One  of 
these  turrets  was  square,  and  occupied  as  a  clock-house. 
But  the  clock  was  now  standing  still ;  a  circumstance  pe- 
culiarly striking  to  Tressilian,  because  the  good  old  knight, 
among  other  harmless  peculiarities,  had  a  fidgelty  anxiety 
about  the  exact  measurement  of  time,  very  common  to 
those  who  have  a  great  deal  of  that  commodity  to  dispose 
of,  and  find  it  lie  heavy  upon  their  hands,  just  as  we  see 
shopkeepers  amuse  themselves  with  taking  an  exact  ac- 
count of  their  stock  at  the  time  there  is  least  demand  for  it. 

The  entrance  to  the  court-yard  of  the  old  mansion  lay 
through  an  archway,  surmounted  by  the  foresaid  tower, 
but  the  drawbridge  was  down,  and  one  leaf  of  the  iron- 
studded  folding-doors  stood  carelessly  open.  Tressilian 


156 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


hastily  rode  over  the  drawbridge,  entered  the  court,  and 
began  to  call  loudly  on  the  domestics  by  their  names. 
For  some  time  he  was  only  answered  by  the  echoes  and 
the  howling  of  the  hounds,  whose  kennel  lay  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  mansion,  and  was  surrounded  by  the 
same  moat.  At  length  Will  Badger,  the  old  and  favourite 
attendant  of  the  knight,  who  acted  alike  as  squire  of  his 
body,  and  superintendant  of  his  sports,  made  his  appear- 
ance. The  stout,  weather-beaten  forester  showed  great 
signs  of  joy  when  he  recognized  Tressilian. 

"  Lord  love  you,"  he  said,  "  Master  Edmund,  be  it 
thou  in  flesh  and  fell  ? — Then  thou  mayst  do  some  good 
on  Sir  Hugh,  for  it  passes  the  wit  of  man,  that  is  of  mine 
own,  and  the  Curate's,  and  Master  Mumblazen's,  to  do 
ought  wi'  un." 

"  Is  Sir  Hugh  then  worse  since  I  went  away,  Will  ?" 
demanded  Tressilian. 

"  For  worse  in  body — no — he  is  much  better,"  replied 
the  domestic  ;  u  but  he  is  clean  mazed  as  it  were — eats 
and  drinks  as  he  is  wont — but  sleeps  not,  or  rather  wakes 
not,  for  he  is  ever  in  a  sort  of  twilight,  that  is  neither 
sleeping  nor  waking.  Dame  Swineford  thought  it  was 
like  the  dead  palsy. — But  no,  no,  dame,  said  I,  it  is  the 
heart,  it  is  the  heart." 

"  Can  ye  not  stir  his  mind  to  any  pastimes  ?"  said 
Tressilian. 

"  He  is  clean  and  quite  off  his  sports,"  said  Will  Bad- 
ger ;  "  hath  neither  touched  backgammon  or  shovel-board 
— nor  looked  on  the  big  book  of  harrotry  wi'  Master 
Mumblazen.  I  let  the  clock  run  down,  thinking  the  miss- 
ing the  bell  might  somewhat  move  him,  for  you  know, 
Master  Edmund,  he  was  particular  in  counting  time  ;  but 
he  never  said  a  word  on't,  so  I  may  e'en  set  the  old  chime 
a  towling  again.  I  made  bold  to  tread  on  Bungay's  tail 
too,  and  you  know  what  a  round  rating  that  would  ha'  cost 
me  once  a-day — but  he  minded  his  whine  no  more  than 
a  madge  howlet  whooping  down  the  chimney — so  the  case 
is  beyond  me." 


KEN  II*  WORTH. 


157 


"  Thou  shalt  tell  me  the  rest  within  doors,  Will. — 
Meanwhile  let  this  person  be  ta'en  to  the  buttery,  and  used 
with  respect — He  is  a  man  of  art." 

"  White  art  or  black  art,  I  would,"  said  Will  Badger, 
"  that  he  had  any  art  which  could  help  us. — Here,  Tom 
Butler,  look  to  the  man  of  art — and  see  that  he  steals 
none  of  thy  spoons,  lad,"  he  added,  in  a  whisper  to  the 
butler,  who  snowed  himself  at  a  low  window,  "  I  have 
known  as  honest  a  faced  fellow  have  art  enough  to  do  that." 

He  then  ushered  Tressilian  into  a  low  parlour,  and 
went,  at  his  desire,  to  see  in  what  state  his  master  was, 
lest  the  sudden  return  of  his  darling  pupil,  and  proposed 
son-in-law,  should  affect  him  too  strongly.  He  returned 
immediately,  and  said  that  Sir  Hugh  was  dozing  in  his 
elbow  chair,  but  that  Master  Mumblazen  wrould  acquaint 
Master  Tressilian  the  instant  he  awaked. 

"  But  it  is  chance  if  he  knows  you,"  said  the  huntsman, 
"  for  he  has  forgotten  the  name  of  every  hound  in  the 
pack.  I  thought  about  a  week  since,  he  had  gotten  a 
favourable  turn  ; — {  Saddle  me  old  Sorrel,'  said  he,  sud- 
denly, after  he  had  taken  his  usual  night-draught  out  of 
the  great  silver  grace-cup,  '  and  take  the  hounds  to  Mount 
Hazelhurst  to-morrow.'  Glad  men  were  we  all,  and  out 
we  had  him  in  the  morning,  and  he  rode  to  cover  as  usual, 
with  never  a  word  but  that  the  wind  was  south,  and  the 
scent  would  lie.  But  ere  we  had  uncoupled  the  hounds, 
he  began  to  stare  round  him,  like  a  man  that  wakes  sud- 
denly out  of  a  dream — turns  bridle  and  walks  back  to 
Hall  again,  and  leaves  us  to  hunt  at  leisure  by  ourselves, 
if  we  listed." 

"  You  tell  a  heavy  tale,  Will,"  replied  Tressilian  ; 
"  but  God  must  help  us — there  is  no  aid  in  man." 

"  Then  you  bring  us  no  news  of  young  Mistress  Amy  ? 
— But  what  need  I  ask — your  brow  tells  the  story.  Ever 
I  hoped,  that  if  any  man  could  or  would  track  her,  it 
must  be  you.  All's  over  and  lost  now.  But  if  ever  I 
have  that  Varney  within  reach  of  a  flight-shot,  I  will  be- 

14     VOL.  I. 


158 


KENILWORTH. 


stow  a  forked  shaft  on  him  ;  and  that  I  swear  by  salt  and 
bread." 

As  he  spoke,  the  door  opened,  and  Master  Mumblazen 
appeared  ;  a  withered,  thin,  elderly  gentleman,  with  a 
cheek  like  a  winter  apple,  and  his  grey  hair  partly  con- 
cealed by  a  small  high  hat,  shaped  like  a  cone,  or  rather 
like  such  a  strawberry-basket  as  London  fruiterers  exhibit 
at  their  windows.  He  was  too  sententious  a  person  to 
waste  words  on  mere  salutation  ;  so,  having  welcomed 
Tressilian  with  a  nod  and  a  shake  of  the  hand,  he  beckoned 
him  to  follow  to  Sir  Hugh's  great  chamber,  which  the  good 
knight  usually  inhabited.  Will  Badger  followed,  unask- 
ed, anxious  to  see  whether  his  master  would  be  relieved 
from  his  state  of  apathy  by  the  arrival  of  Tressilian. 

In  a  long  low  parlour,  amply  furnished  with  implements 
of  the  chase,  and  with  sylvan  trophies,  by  a  massive  stone 
chimney,  over  which  hung  a  sword  and  suit  of  armour, 
somewhat  obscured  by  neglect,  sat  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  of 
Lidcote,  a  man  of  large  size,  which  had  been  only  kept 
within  moderate  compass  by  the  constant  use  of  violent 
exercise.  It  seemed  to  Tressilian  that  the  lethargy,  un- 
der which  his  old  friend  appeared  to  labour,  had,  even 
during  his  few  weeks  absence,  added  bulk  to  his  person ; 
at  least  it  had  obviously  diminished  the  vivacity  of  his  eye, 
which,  as  they  entered,  first  followed  Master  Mumblazen 
slowly  to  a  large  oaken  desk,  on  which  a  ponderous  vol- 
ume lay  open,  and  then  rested,  as  if  in  uncertainty,  on 
the  stranger  who  had  entered  along  with  him.  The 
curate,  a  grey-headed  clergyman,  who  had  been  a  con- 
fessor in  the  clays  of  Queen  Mary,  sat  with  a  book  in  his 
hand  in  another  recess  in  the  apartment.  He,  too,  sign- 
ed a  mournful  greeting  to  Tressilian,  and  laid  his  book 
aside,  to  watch  the  effect  his  appearance  should  produce 
on  the  afflicted  old  man. 

As  Tressilian,  his  own  eyes  filling  fast  with  tears,  ap- 
proached more  and  more  nearly  to  the  father  of  his  be- 
trothed bride,  Sir  Hugh's  intelligence  seemed  to  revive. 
He  sighed  heavily,  as  one  who  awakens  from  a  state  of 
stupor,  a  slight  convulsion  passed  over  his  features,  he 


KENIIi  WORTH. 


159 


opened  his  arms  without  speaking  a  word,  and  asTressil- 
ian  threw  himself  into  them,  he  folded  him  to  his  bosom. 

"  There  is  something  left  to  live  for  yet,"  were  the 
first  words  he  uttered  ;  and  while  he  spoke,  he  gave  vent 
to  his  feelings  in  a  paroxysm  of  weeping,  the  tears  chas- 
ing each  other  down  his  sun-burnt  cheeks  and  long  white 
beard. 

"  I  ne'er  thought  to  have  thanked  God  to  see  my  mas- 
ter weep,"  said  Will  Badger  ;  "  but  now  I  do,  though  I 
am  like  to  weep  for  company." 

"  I  will  ask  thee  no  questions,"  said  the  old  knight  ; 
"  no  questions — -none,  Edmund — thou  hast  not  found 
her,  or  so  found  her,  that  she  were  better  lost." 

Tressilian  was  unable  to  reply,  otherwise  than  by  put- 
ting his  hands  before  his  face. 

"  It  is  enough — it  is  enough.  But  do  not  thou  weep 
for  her,  Edmund.  I  have  cause  to  weep,  for  she  was  my 
daughter,- — thou  hast  cause  to  rejoice,  that  she  did  not 
become  thy  wife. — Great  God  !  thou  knowest  best  what 
is  good  for  us — It  was  my  nightly  prayer  that  I  should  see 
Amy  and  Edmund  wedded, — had  it  been  granted,  it  had 
now  been  gall  added  to  bitterness." 

"  Be  comforted,  my  friend,"  said  the  curate,  address- 
ing Sir  Hugh,  "  it  cannot  be  that  the  daughter  of  all  our 
hopes  and  affections  is  the  vile  creature  you  would  be- 
speak her." 

"  O,  no,"  replied  Sir  Hugh,  impatiently,  "  I  were 
wrong  to  name  broadly  the  base  thing  she  is  become — 
there  is  some  new  court  name  for  it,  I  warrant  me.  It  is 
honour  enough  for  the  daughter  of  an  old  De'nshire  clown 
to  be  the  leman  of  a  gay  courtier, — of  Varney  too, — 
of  Varney,  whose  grandsire  was  relieved  by  my  father, 
when  his  fortune  was  broken,  at  the  battle  of — the  battle 
of — where  Richard  was  slain — out  on  my  memory — and 
I  warrant  none  of  you  will  help  me."  

"  The  battle  of  Bosworth,"  said  Master  Mumblazen, 
"  stricken  between  Richard  Crookback  and  Henry  Tu- 
dor, grandsire  of  the  queen  that  now  is,  Primo  Henrici 


160 


KE  Nil  WORTH. 


Septimi ;  and  in  the  year  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighty-five,  post  Christum  natum" 

"  Ay,  even  so,"  said  the  good  knight,  "  every  child 
knows  it — But  my  poor  head  forgets  all  it  should  remem- 
ber, and  remembers  only  what  it  would  most  willingly 
forget.  My  brain  has  been  at  fault,  Tressilian,  almost 
ever  since  thou  hast  been  away,  and  even  yet  it  hunts 
counter." 

"  Your  worship,"  said  the  good  clergyman,  "  had  bet- 
ter retire  to  your  apartment,,  and  try  to  sleep  for  a  little 
space, — the  physician  left  a  composing  draught, — and  our 
Great  Physician  has  commanded  us  to  use  earthly  means, 
that  we  may  be  strengthened  to  sustain  the  trials  he 
sends  us." 

"  True,  true,  old  friend,"  said  Sir  Hugh,  "  and  we  will 
be*ar  our  trials  manfully — We  have  lost  but  a  woman. — 
See,  Tressilian," — he  drew  from  his  bosom  a  long  ringlet 
of  fair  hair, — "  see  this  lock  ! — I  tell  thee,  Edmund,  the 
very  night  she  disappeared,  when  she  bid  me  good  even, 
as  she  was  wont,  she  hung  about  my  neck,  and  fondled 
me  more  than  usual ;  and  I,  like  an  old  fool,  held  her  by 
this  lock,  until  she  took  her  scissars,  severed  it,  and  left 
it  in  my  hand, — as  all  I  was  ever  to  see  more  of  her  !" 

Tressilian  was  unable  to  reply,  well  judging  what  a 
complication  of  feelings  must  have  crossed  the  bosom  of 
the  unhappy  fugitive  at  that  cruel  moment.  The  clergy- 
man was  about  to  speak,  but  Sir  Hugh  interrupted  him. 

<;  I  know  what  you  would  say,  Master  Curate, — after 
all,  it  is  but  a  lock  of  woman's  tresses, — and  by  woman, 
shame,  and  sin,  and  death,  came  into  an  innocent  world — 
And  learned  Master  Mumblazen,  too,  can  say  scholarly 
things  of  their  inferiority." 

"  Cest  Vhomme"  said  Master  Mumblazen,  "  qui  se 
bast  et  qui  conseitte" 

"  True,"  said  Sir  Hugh,  "  and  we  will  bear  us,  there- 
fore, like  men  who  have  both  mettle  and  wisdom  in  us. — 
Tressilian,  thou  art  as  welcome  as  if  thou  hadst  brought 
better  news.  But  we  have  spoken  too  long  dry-lipped. 
* — Amy,  fill  a  cup  of  wine  to  Edmund,  and  another  to 


KENILWORTH. 


161 


me."  Then  instantly  recollecting  that  he  called  upon  her 
who  could  not  hear,  he  shook  his  head,  and  said  to  the 
clergyman,  "  This  grief  is  to  my  bewildered  mind  what 
the  Church  of  Lidcote  is  to  our  park  ;  we  may  lose  our- 
selves among  the  briars  and  thickets,  for  a  little  space,  but 
from  the  end  of  each  avenue  we  see  the  old  grey  steeple 
and  the  grave  of  my  forefathers.  I  would  I  were  to  travel 
that  road  to-morrow." 

Tressilian  and  the  curate  joined  in  urging  the  exhaust- 
ed old  man  to  lay  himself  to  rest,  and  at  length  prevailed. 
Tressilian  remained  by  his  pillow  till  he  saw  that  slumber 
at  length  sunk  down  on  him,  and  then  returned  to  consult 
with  the  curate  what  steps  should  be  adopted  in  these 
unhappy  circumstances. 

They  could  not  exclude  from  these  deliberations  Mas- 
ter Michael  Mumblazen  ;  and  they  admitted  him  the 
more  readily,  that  besides  what  hopes  they  entertained 
from  his  sagacity,  they  knew  him  to  be  so  great  a  friend 
to  taciturnity,  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  his  keeping 
counsel.  He  was  an  old  bachelor,  of  good  family,  but 
small  fortune,  and  distantly  related  to  the  House  of  Rob- 
sart  ;  in  virtue  of  which  connexion,  Lidcote  Hall  had 
been  honoured  with  his  residence  for  the  last  twenty  years. 
His  company  was  agreeable  to  Sir  Hugh,  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  his  profound  learning,  which,  though  it  only  re- 
lated to  heraldry  and  genealogy,  with  such  scraps  of  his- 
tory as  connected  themselves  with  these  subjects,  wTas 
precisely  of  a  kind  to  captivate  the  good  old  knight  ; 
besides  the  convenience  which  he  found  in  having  a  friend 
to  appeal  to,  when  his  own  memory,  as  frequently  hap- 
pened, proved  infirm,  and  played  him  false  concerning 
names  and  dates,  which,  and  all  similar  deficiencies,  Mas- 
ter Michael  Mumblazen  supplied  with  due  brevity  and 
discretion.  And,  indeed,  in  matters  concerning  the  mod- 
ern world,  he  often  gave,  in  his  enigmatical  and  heraldric 
phrase,  advice  which  was  well  worth  attending  to,  or,  in 
Will  Badger's  language,  started  the  game  while  others 
beat  the  bush. 

14*     VOL.  I. 


162 


KENTL  WORTH. 


"  We  have  had  an  unhappy  time  of  it  with  the  good 
knight,  Master  Edmund,"  said  the  curate.  "  I  have  not 
suffered  so  much  since  I  was  torn  away  from  my  beloved 
liock^and  compelled  to  abandon  them  to  the  Romish 
wolves." 

"  That  was  in  Tertio  Marice,"  said  Master  Mumblazen. 

"  In  the  name  of  heaven,"  continued  the  curate,  "  tell 
us,  has  your  time  been  better  spent  than  ours,  or  have 
you  any  news  of  that  unhappy  maiden,  who,  being  for  so 
many  years  the  principal  joy  of  this  broken  down  house, 
is  now  proved  our  greatest  unhappiness  ?  Have  you  not 
at  least  discovered  her  place  of  residence  ?" 

"  I  have,"  replied  Tressilian.  "  Know  you  Cumnor- 
Place,  near  Oxford  ?" 

"  Surely,"  said  the  clergyman  ;  "  it  was  a  cell  of  re- 
moval for  the  monks  of  Abingdon." 

"  Whose  arms,"  said  Master  Michael,  "  I  have  seen 
over  a  stone  chimney  in  the  hall, — a  cross  patonee  be- 
twixt four  martlets." 

"  There,"  said  Tressilian,  "  this  unhappy  maiden  re- 
sides, in  company  with  the  villain  Varney.  But  for  a 
strange  mishap,  my  sword  had  revenged  all  our  injuries, 
as  well  as  hers,  on  his  worthless  head." 

"  Thank  God,  that  kept  thine  hand  from  blood-guilti- 
ness, rash  young  man,"  answered  the  curate.  "  Ven- 
geance is  mine,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  repay  it.  It 
were  better  study  to  free  her  from  the  villain's  nets  of 
infamy," 

"  They  are  called,  in  heraldry,  laquece  amoris,  or  lacs 
iV amour"  said  Mumblazen. 

"  It  is  in  that  I  require  your  aid,  my  friends,"  said  Tres- 
silian ;  "  I  am  resolved  to  accuse  this  villain,  at  the  very 
foot  of  the  throne,  of  falsehood,  seduction,  and  breach 
of  hospitable  laws.  The  queen  shall  hear  me,  though 
the  Earl  of  Leicester,  the  villain's  patron,  stood  at  her 
right  hand." 

"  Her  grace,"  said  the  curate,  "  hath  set  a  comely 
example  of  continence  to  her  subjects,  and  will  doubtless 
do  justice  on  this  inhospitable  robber.    But  wert  thou  not 


KENILWORTH. 


163 


better  apply  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  in  the  first  place, 
for  justice  on  his  servant  ?  If  he  grants  it,  thou  dost  save 
the  risk  of  making  thyself  a  powerful  adversary,  which 
will  certainly  chance,  if,  in  the  first  instance,  you  accuse 
his  master  of  the  horse,  and  prime  favourite,  before  the 
queen." 

"  My  mind  revolts  from  your  counsel,"  said  Tressilian. 
"  I  cannot  brook  to  plead  my  noble  patron's  cause — the 
unhappy  Amy's  cause — before  any  one  save  my  lawful 
sovereign.  Leicester,  thou  wilt  say,  is  noble — be  it  so — 
he  is  but  a  subject  like  ourselves,  and  I  will  not  carry  my 
plaint  to  him,  if  I  can  do  better.  Still,  I  will  think  on 
what  thou  hast  said, — but  I  must  have  your  assistance  to 
persuade  the  good  Sir  Hugh  to  make  me  his  commissioner 
and  fiduciary  in  this  matter,  for  it  is  in  his  name  I  must 
speak,  and  not  in  my  own.  Since  she  is  so  far  changed 
as  to  doat  upon  this  empty  profligate  courtier,  he  shall  at 
least  do  her  the  justice  which  is  yet  in  his  power." 

"  Better  she  died  ccelebs  and  sine  prole"  said  Mum- 
blazen,  with  more  animation  than  he  usually  expressed, 
"  than  part,  per  pale,  the  noble  coat  of  Robsart  with  that 
of  such  a  miscreant." 

"  If  it  be  your  object,  as  I  cannot  question,"  said  the 
clergyman,  "  to  save,  as  much  as  is  yet  possible,  the  credit 
of  this  unhappy  young  woman,  I  repeat,  you  should  ap- 
ply, in  the  first  instance,  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  He 
is  as  absolute  in  his  household  as  the  queen  in  her  king- 
dom, and  if  he  expresses  to  Varney  that  such  is  his  pleas- 
ure, her  honour  will  not  stand  so  publicly  committed." 

"  You  are  right,  you  are  right,"  said  Tressilian  eagerly, 
"  and  I  thank  you  for  pointing  out  what  I  overlooked  in 
my  haste.  I  little  thought  ever  to  have  besought  grace  of 
Leicester  ;  but  I  could  kneel  to  the  proud  Dudley,  if  do- 
ing so  could  remove  one  shade  of  shame  from  this  un- 
happy damsel.  You  will  assist  me  then  to  procure  the 
necessary  powers  from  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  ?" 

The  curate  assured  him  of  his  assistance,  and  the  her- 
ald nodded  assent. 


164 


KENII*  WORTH. 


"  You  must  hold  yourselves  also  in  readiness  to  testify, 
in  case  you  are  called  upon,  the  open-hearted  hospitality 
which  our  good  patron  exercised  towards  this  deceitful 
traitor,  and  the  solicitude  with  which  he  laboured  to  se- 
duce his  unhappy  daughter." 

"  At  first,"  said  the  clergyman,  "  she  did  not  as  it  seem- 
ed to  me,  much  affect  his  company,  but  latterly,  I  saw 
them  often  together." 

"  Seiant  in  the  parlour,"  said  Michael  Mumblazen, 
"  and  passant  in  the  garden." 

"  I  once  came  on  them  by  chance,"  said  the  priest, 
"  in  the  South  wood,  in  a  spring  evening — Varney  was 
muffled  in  a  russet  cloak,  so  that  I  saw  not  his  face, — they 
separated  hastily,  as  they  heard  me  rustle  amongst  the 
leaves,  and  I  observed  she  turned  her  head  and  looked 
long  after  him." 

"  With  neck  reguardant"  said  the  herald — "  And  on 
the  day  of  her  flight,  and  that  was  on  St.  Austen's  eve,  I 
saw  Varney's  groom,  attired  in  his  liveries,  hold  his  mas- 
ter's horse  and  Mistress  Amy's  palfrey,  bridled  and  sad- 
dled proper  behind  the  wall  of  the  church-yard." 

"  And  now  is  she  found  mewed  up  in  her  secret  place 
of  retirement,"  said  Tressilian.  "  The  villain  is  taken 
in  the  manner,  and  I  well  wish  he  may  deny  his  crime, 
that  I  may  thrust  conviction  down  his  false  throat.  But  I 
must  prepare  for  my  journey.  Do  you,  gentlemen,  dis- 
pose my  patron  to  grant  me  such  powers  as  are  needful 
to  act  in  his  name." 

So  saying,  Tressilian  left  the  room. 

"  He  is  too  hot,"  said  the  curate  ;  "  and  I  pray  to  God 
that  he  may  grant  him  the  patience  to  deal  with  Varney 
as  is  fitting." 

"  Patience  and  Varney,"  said  Mumblazen,  "is  worse 
heraldry  than  metal  upon  metal.  He  is  more  false  than 
a  Syren,  more  rapacious  than  a  griffin,  more  poisonous 
than  awyvern,  and  more  cruel  than  a  lion  rampant." 

"  Yet  I  doubt  much,"  said  the  curate,  "  whether  we 
can  with  all  right  ask  from  Sir  Hugh  Robsart,  being  in  his 


KENIL  WORTH. 


165 


present  condition,  any  deed  deputing  his  paternal  right  in 
Mistress  Amy  to  whomsoever"  

"  Your  reverence  need  not  doubt  that,"  said  Will  Bad- 
ger, who  entered  as  he  spoke,  "  for  I  will  lay  my  life  he 
is  another  man  when  he  wakes,  than  he  has  been  these 
thirty  days  past." 

"  Ay,  Will,"  said  the  curate,  "  hast  thou  then  so  much 
confidence  in  Doctor  Diddleum's  draught  ?" 

"  Not  a  whit,"  said  Will,  "  because  master  ne'er  tasted 
a  drop  on't,  seeing  it  was  emptied  out  by  the  housemaid. 
But  here's  a  gentleman,  who  came  attending  on  Master 
Tressilian,  has  given  Sir  Hugh  a  draught  that  is  worth 
twenty  of  yon  un.  I  have  spoken  cunningly  with  him, 
and  a  better  farrier,  or  one  who  hath  a  more  just  notion 
of  horse  and  dog  ailment,  I  have  never  seen  ;  and  such 
a  one  would  never  be  unjust  to  a  Christian  man." 

"  A  farrier  !  you  saucy  groom — And  by  whose  author- 
ity pray  !"  said  the  curate,  rising  in  surprise  and  indig- 
nation ;  "  or  who  will  be  warrant  for  this  new  physician  ?" 

"  For  authority,  an  it  like  your  reverence,  he  had  mine  ; 
and  for  warrant,  I  trust,  I  have  not  been  five-and-twenty 
years  in  this  house,  without  having  a  right  to  warrant  the 
giving  of  a  draught  to  beast  or  body — I  who  can  gie  a 
drench,  and  a  ball,  and  bleed,  or  blister,  if  need,  to  my 
very  self." 

The  counsellors  of  the  House  of  Robsart  thought  it 
meet  to  carry  this  information  instantly  to  Tressilian,  who 
as  speedily  summoned  before  him  Wayland  Smith,  and 
demanded  of  him  (in  private  however,)  by  what  author- 
ity he  had  ventured  to  administer  any  medicine  to  Sir 
Hugh  Robsart  ? 

"  Why,"  replied  the  artist,  "  your  worship  cannot  but 
remember  that  I  told  you  I  had  made  more  progress  into 
my  master's — I  mean  the  learned  Doctor  Doboobie's — 
mystery  than  he  was  willing  to  own  ;  and  indeed  half  of 
his  quarrel  and  malice  against  me  was,  that,  besides  that 
I  got  something  too  deep  into  his  secrets,  several  discern- 
ing persons,  and  particularly  a  buxom  young  widow  of 
Abingdon,  preferred  my  prescription  to  his." 


166 


KENILWORTH. 


"  None  of  thy  buffoonery,  sir,"  said  Tressilian,  sternly. 
"  If  thou  hast  trifled  with  us — much  more,  if  thou  hast 
done  aught  that  may  prejudice  Sir  Hugh  Robsart's  health, 
thou  shalt  find  thy  grave  at  the  bottom  of  a  tin-mine." 

"  I  know  too  little  of  the  great  arcanum  to  convert  the 
ore  to  gold,"  said  Wayland,  firmly.  "  But  truce  to  your 
apprehensions,  Master  Tressilian — I  understood  the  good 
knight's  case,  from  what  Master  William  Badger  told  me  ; 
and  I  hope  I  am  able  enough  to  administer  a  poor  dose 
of  mandragorn,  which,  with  the  sleep  which  must  needs 
follow,  is  all  that  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  requires  to  settle  his 
distraught  brains." 

"  I  trust  thou  dealest  fairly  with  me,  Wayland  ?"  said 
Tressilian. 

"  Most  fairly  and  honestly,  as  the  event  shall  show," 
replied  the  artist.  "  What  would  it  avail  me  to  harm  the 
poor  old  man  for  whom  you  are  interested  ?  you,  to  whom 
I  owe  it,  that  Gaffer  Pinniewinks  is  not  even  now  rending 
my  flesh  and  sinews  with  his  accursed  pincers,  and  prob- 
ing every  mole  in  my  body  with  his  sharpened  awl,  (a 
murrain  on  the  hands  which  forged  it  !)  in  order  to  find 
out  the  witch's  mark  ! — I  trust  to  yoke  myself  as  a  hum- 
ble follower  to  your  worship's  train,  and  I  only  wish  to 
have  my  faith  judged  of  by  the  result  of  the  good  knight's 
slumbers." 

Wayland  Smith  was  right  in  his  prognostication.  The 
sedative  draught  which  his  skill  had  prepared,  and  Will 
Badger's  confidence  had  administered,  was  attended  with 
the  most  beneficial  effects.  The  patient's  sleep  was  long 
and  healthful,  and  the  poor  old  knight  awoke,  humbled 
indeed  in  thought,  and  weak  in  frame,  yet  a  much  better 
judge  of  whatever  was  subjected  to  his  intellect  than  he 
had  been  for  some  time  past.  He  resisted  for  a  while 
the  proposal  made  by  his  friends,  that  Tressilian  should 
undertake  a  journey  to  court,  to  attempt  the  recovery  of 
his  daughter,  and  the  redress  of  her  wrongs,  in  so  far  as 
they  might  yet  be  repaired.  "  Let  her  go,"  he  said  ; 
"  she  is  but  a  hawk  that  goes  down  the  wind  ;  I  would 
not  bestow  even  a  whistle  to  reclaim  her."    But  though 


KENILWORTH. 


167 


he  for  some  time  maintained  this  argument,  he  was  at 
length  convinced  it  was  his  duty  to  take  the  part  to  which 
natural  affection  inclined  him,  and  consent  that  such  efforts 
as  could  yet  be  made  should  be  used  by  Tressilian  in  be- 
half of  his  daughter.  He  subscribed,  therefore,  a  war- 
rant of  attorney,  such  as  the  curate's  skill  enabled  him  to 
draw  up  ;  for  in  these  simple  days  the  clergy  were  often 
the  advisers  of  their  flock  in  law,  as  well  as  in  gospel. 

All  matters  were  prepared  for  Tressilian's  second  de- 
parture, within  twenty-four  hours  after  he  had  returned 
to  Lidcote  Hall ;  but  one  material  circumstance  had  been 
forgotten,  which  was  first  called  to  the  remembrance  of 
Tressilian  by  Master  Mumblazen.  "  You  are  going  to 
court,  Master  Tressilian,"  said  he  ;  "  you  will  please  re- 
member, that  your  blazonry  must  be  argent  and  or — no 
other  tinctures  will  pass  current."  The  remark  was 
equally  just  and  embarrassing.  To  prosecute  a  suit  at 
court,  ready  money  was  as  indispensable  even  in  the  gold- 
en days  of  Elizabeth  as  at  any  succeeding  period  ;  and 
it  was  a  commodity  little  at  the  command  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Lidcote  Hall.  Tressilian  was  himself  poor  ; 
the  revenues  of  good  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  were  consumed, 
and  even  anticipated,  in  his  hospitable  mode  of  living  ; 
and  it  was  finally  necessary  that  the  herald  who  started 
the  doubt  should  himself  solve  it.  Master  Michael  Mum- 
blazen did  so  by  producing  a  bag  of  money,  containing 
nearly  three  hundred  pounds  in  gold  and  silver  of  various 
coinage,  the  savings  of  twenty  years  ;  which  he  now, 
without  speaking  a  syllable  upon  the  subject,  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  the  patron  whose  shelter  and  protection 
had  given  him  the  means  of  making  this  little  hoard. 
Tressilian  accepted  it  without  affecting  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation, and  a  mutual  grasp  of  the  hand  was  all  that  passed 
betwixt  them,  to  express  the  pleasure  which  the  one  felt 
in  dedicating  his  all  to  such  a  purpose,  and  that  which  the 
other  received  from  finding  so  material  an  obstacle  to  the 
success  of  his  journey  so  suddenly  removed,  and  in  a 
manner  so  unexpected. 


168 


KENIL  WORTH. 


While  Tressilian  was  making  preparations  for  his  de- 
parture early  the  ensuing  morning,  Wayland  Smith  desir- 
ed to  speak  with  him  ;  and,  expressing  his  hope  that  he 
-  had  been  pleased  with  the  operation  of  his  medicine  in 
behalf  of  Sir  Hugh  Robsart,  added  his  desire  to  accom- 
pany him  to  court.  This  was  indeed  what  Tressilian  him- 
self had  several  times  thought  of  ;  for  the  shrewdness, 
alertness  of  understanding,  and  variety  of  resource,  which 
this  fellow  had  exhibited  during  the  time  they  had  trav- 
elled together,  had  made  him  sensible  that  his  assistance 
might  be  of  importance.  But  then  Wayland  was  in  dan- 
ger from  the  grasp  of  law  ;  and  of  this  Tressilian  re- 
minded him,  mentioning  something,  at  the  same  time,  of 
the  pincers  of  Pinniewinks,  and  the  warrant  of  Master  Jus- 
tice Blindas.    Wayland  Smith  laughed  both  to  scorn. 

"  See  you,  sir  !"  said  he,  "  I  have  changed  my  garb 
from  that  of  a  farrier  to  a  serving-man  ;  but  were  it  still 
as  it  was,  look  at  my  moustaches- — they  now  hang  down — 
1  will  but  turn  them  up  and  dye  them  with  a  tincture  that 
1  know  of,  and  the  devil  would  scarce  know  me  again." 

He  accompanied  these  words  with  the  appropriate  ac- 
tion ;  and  in  less  than  a  minute,  by  setting  up  his  mous- 
taches and  his  hair,  he  seemed  a  different  person  from 
him  that  had  but  now  entered  the  room.  Still,  however, 
Tressilian  hesitated  to  accept  his  services,  and  the  artist 
became  proportionably  urgent. 

"  I  owe  you  life  and  limb,"  he  said,  "  and  I  would  fain 
pay  a  part  of  the  debt,  especially  as  I  know  from  Will 
Badger  on  what  dangerous  service  your  worship  is  bound. 
I  do  not  indeed  pretend  to  be  what  is  called  a  man  of 
mettle,  one  of  those  ruffling  tear-cats,  who  maintain  their 
master's  quarrel  with  sword  and  buckler.  Nay,  I  am 
even  one  of  those  who  hold  the  end  of  a  feast  better  than 
the  beginning  of  a  fray.  But  I  know  that  I  can  serve 
your  worship  better  in  such  quest  as  yours,  than  any  of 
these  sword-and-dagger-men,  and  that  my  head  will  be 
worth  an  hundred  of  their  hands." 

Tressilian  still  hesitated.  He  knew  not  much  of  this 
strange  fellow,  and  was  doubtful  how  far  he  could  repose 


KENILWORTH. 


169 


in  him  the  confidence  necessary  to  render  him  an  useful 
attendant  upon  the  present  emergency.  Ere  he  had  come 
to  a  determination,  the  trampling  of  a  horse  was  heard  in 
the  court-yard,  and  Master  Mumblazen  and  Will  Badger 
both  entered  hastily  into  Tressilian's  chamber,  speaking 
almost  at  the  same  moment. 

"  Here  is  a  serving-man  on  the  bonniest  grey  tit  I  ever 

seed  in  my  life,"  said  Will  Badger,  who  got  the  start ;  

"  having  on  his  arm  a  silver  cognizance,  being  a  fire-drake 
holding  in  his  mouth  a  brick-bat,  under  a  coronet  of  an 
earl's  degree,"  said  Master  Mumblazen,  "  and  bearing  a 
letter  sealed  of  the  same." 

Tressilian  took  the  letter,  which  was  addressed  "  To 
the  worshipful  Master  Edmund  Tressilian  our  loving  kins- 
man— These — ride,  ride,  ride, — for  thy  life,  for  thy  life, 
for  thy  life."  He  then  opened  it,  and  found  the  follow- 
ing contents  : — 

"  Master  Tressilian,  our  good  Friend  and  Cousin, 

"  We  are  at  present  so  ill  at  ease,  and  otherwise  so 
unhappily  circumstanced,  that  we  are  desirous  to  have 
around  us  those  of  our  friends,  on  whose  loving  kindness 
we  can  most  especially  repose  confidence  ;  amongst  whom 
we  hold  our  good  Master  Tressilian  one  of  the  foremost 
and  nearest,  both  in  good  will  and  good  ability.  We 
therefore  pray  you,  with  your  most  convenient«speed,  to 
repair  to  our  poor  lodging,  at  Say's  Court,  near  Deptford, 
where  we  will  treat  farther  with  you  of  matters  which  wTe 
deem  it  not  fit  to  commit  unto  writing.  And  so  we  bid 
you  heartily  farewell,  being  your  loving  kinsman  to  com- 
mand, "  Ratcliffe,  Earl  of  Sussex." 

"  Send  up  the  messenger  instantly,  Will  Badger,"  said 
Tressilian  ;  and  as  the  man  entered  the  room,  he  exclaim- 
ed, "  Aha,  Stevens,  is  it  you  ?  how  does  my  good  lord  ?" 

"  111,  Master  Tressilian,"  was  the  messenger's  reply, 
"  and  having  therefore  the  more  need  of  good  friends 
around  him." 

15    vol.  I. 


170 


KENILWORTH. 


u  But  what  is  my  lord's  malady  ?"  said  Tressilian, 
anxiously,  u  I  heard  nothing  of  his  being  ill  ?" 

"  I  know  not,  sir,"  replied  the  man,  "  he  is  very  ill  at 
ease.  The  leeches  are  at  a  stand,  and  many  of  his  house- 
hold suspect  foul  practice  ;  witchcraft  or  worse." 

"  What  are  the  symptoms  ?"  said  Wayland  Smith, 
stepping  forward  hastily. 

"  Anan  ?"  said  the  messenger,  not  comprehending  his 
meaning. 

"  What  does  he  ail  ?"  said  Wayland  ;  where  lies  his 
disease  ?" 

The  man  looked  at  Tressilian,  as  if  to  know  whether 
he  should  answer  these  inquiries  from  a  stranger,  and  re- 
ceiving a  sign  in  the  affirmative,  replied. 

Stevens  then  hastily  enumerated  gradual  loss  of  strength, 
nocturnal  perspiration,  loss  of  appetite,  faintness.  &ic. 

"  Joined,"  said  Wayland,  "  to  a  gnawing  pain  in  the 
stomach,  and  a  low  fever." 

"  Even  so,"  said  the  messenger,  somewhat  surprised. 

"  I  know  how  the  disease  is  caused,"  said  the  artist, 
"  and  I  know  the  cause.  Your  master  has  eaten  of  the 
manna  of  Saint  Nicholas.  I  know  the  cure  too — my  mas- 
ter shall  not  say  I  studied  in  his  laboratory  for  nothing." 

"  How  mean  you  ?"  said  Tressilian,  frowning,  "  we 
speak  of  one  of  the  first  nobles  of  England.  Bethink 
you,  this*is  no  subject  for  buffoonery." 

"  God  forbid  !"  said  Wayland  Smith.  "  I  say  that  I 
know  his  disease,  and  can  cure  him.  Remember  what 
I  did  for  Sir  Hugh  Robsart." 

"  W^e  will  set  forth  instantly,"  said  Tressilian.  "  God 
calls  us." 

Accordingly,  hastily  mentioning  this  new  motive  for  his 
instant  departure,  though  without  mentioning  either  the 
suspicions  of  Stevens,  or  the  assurances  of  Wayland  Smith, 
he  took  the  kindest  leave  of  Sir  Hugh  and  the  family  at 
Lidcote-Hall,  who  accompanied  him  with  prayers  and 
blessings,  and,  attended  by  Wayland  and  the  Earl  of 
Sussex's  domestic,  travelled  with  the  utmost  speed  to- 
wards London. 


KENIIiAVORTH. 


171 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

 Ay,  I  know  you  have  arsenick, 

Vitriol,  sal-tartre,  argaile,  alkaly, 
Cinoper:  I  know  all.    This  fellow,  Captain, 
Will  come  in  time  to  be  a  great  distiller, 
And  give  a  say  (1  will  not  say  directly, 
But  very  near)  at  the  philosopher's  stone. 

Tfie  Alchemist. 

Tressilian  and  his  attendants  pressed  their  route  with 
all  despatch.  He  had  asked  the  smith,  indeed,  when 
their  departure  was  resolved  on,  whether  he  would  not 
rather  choose  to  avoid  Berkshire,  in  which  he  had  played 
a  part  so  conspicuous.  But  Wayland  returned  a  con- 
fident answer.  He  had  employed  the  short  interval 
they  passed  at  Lidcote  Hall  in  transforming  himself  in  a 
wonderful  manner.  His  wild  and  overgrown  thicket  of 
beard  was  now  restrained  to  two  small  moustachios  on 
the  upper  lip,  turned  up  in  a  military  fashion.  A  tailor 
from  the  village  of  Lidcote  (well  paid)  had  exerted  his 
skill,  under  his  customer's  directions,  so  as  completely  to 
alter  Wayland's  outward  man,  and  take  off  from  his  ap- 
pearance almost  twenty  years  of  age.  Formerly,  be- 
smeared with  soot  and  charcoal — overgrown  with  hair, 
and  bent  double  with  the  nature  of  his  labour — disfigured 
too  by  his  odd  and  fantastic  dress,  he  seemed  a  man  of 
fifty  years  old.  But  now,  in  a  handsome  suit  of  Tres- 
silian's  livery,  with  a  sword  by  his  side,  and  a  buckler 
on  his  shoulder,  he  looked  like  a  gay  ruffling  serving-man, 
whose  age  might  be  betwixt  thirty  and  thirty-five,  the 
very  prime  of  human  life.  His  loutish  savage-looking 
demeanour  seemed  equally  changed,  into  a  forward, 
sharp,  and  impudent  alertness  of  look  and  action. 

When  challenged  by  Tressilian,  who  desired  to  know 
the  cause  of  a  metamorphosis  so  singular  and  so  absolute, 


172 


KENILWORTH. 


Wayland  only  answered  by  singing  a  stave  from  a  com- 
edy, which  was  then  new,  and  was  supposed,  among  the 
more  favourable  judges,  to  augur  some  genius  on  the  part 
of  the  author.  We  are  happy  to  preserve  the  couplet, 
which  ran  exactly  thus, — 

"  Ban,  ban,  ca  Caliban — 

Get  a  new  master — be  a  new  man." 

Although  Tressilian  did  not  recollect  the  verses,  yet  they 
reminded  him  that  Wayland  had  once  been  a  stage-play- 
er, a  circumstance  which,  of  itself  accounted  indifferently 
wrell  for  the  readiness  with  which  he  could  assume  so 
total  a  change  of  personal  appearance.  The  artist  him- 
self was  so  confident  of  his  disguise  being  completely 
changed,  or  of  his  having  completely  changed  his  dis- 
guise, which  may  be  the  more  correct  mode  of  speaking, 
that  he  regretted  they  were  not  to  pass  near  his  old  place 
of  retreat. 

"  I  could  venture"  he  said,  "  in  my  present  dress, 
and  with  your  worship's  backing,  to  face  master  Justice 
Blindas,  even  on  a  day  of  Quarter  Sessions  ;  and  I  would 
like  to  know  what  has  become  of  Hobgoblin,  who  is  like 
to  play  the  devil  in  the  world,  if  he  can  once  slip  the 
string,  and  leave  his  grannie  and  his  dominie. — Ay,  and 
the  scathed  vault !"  he  said,  "  I  would  willingly  have 
seen  what  havock  the  explosion  of  so  much  gunpowder 
has  made  among  Doctor  Demetrius  Doboobie's  retorts 
and  phials.  I  warrant  me,  my  fame  haunts  the  vale  of 
the  Whitehorse  long  after  my  body  is  rotten ;  and  that 
many  a  lout  ties  up  his  horse,  lays  down  his  silver  groat, 
and  pipes  like  a  sailor  whistling  in  a  calm,  for  Wayland 
Smith  to  come  and  shoe  his  tit  for  him.  But  the  horse 
will  catch  the  founders  ere  I  answer  the  call." 

In  this  particular,  indeed,  Wayland  proved  a  true 
prophet ;  and  so  easily  do  fables  rise,  that  an  obscure 
tradition  of  his  extraordinary  practice  in  farriery  pre- 
vails in  the  vale  of  Whitehorse  even  unto  this  day  ;*  and 


*  See  Camden's  Britannia—  Gouglvs  Edition.   Vol.  1.  p.  221. 


KENIL  WORTH. 


173 


neither  the  tradition  of  Alfred's  Victory,  nor  of  the  cele- 
brated Pusey  Horn  are  better  preserved  in  Berkshire 
than  the  wild  legend  of  Wayland  Smith. 

The  haste  of  the  travellers  admitted  their  making  no 
stay  upon  their  journey,  save  what  the  refreshment  of  the 
horses  required ;  and  as  many  of  „|he  places  through 
which  they  passed  were  under  the  influence  of  the  Earl 
of  Leicester,  or  persons  immediately  dependent  on  him, 
they  thought  it  prudent  to  disguise  their  names,  and  the 
purposes  of  their  journey.  On  such  occasions  the  agency 
of  Wayland  Smith  (by  which  name  we  will  continue  to 
distinguish  the  artist,  though  his  real  name  was  Launcelot 
Wayland)  was  extremely  serviceable.  He  seemed,  in- 
deed, to  have  a  pleasure  in  displaying  the  alertness  with 
which  he  could  baffle  investigation,  and  amuse  himself  by 
putting  the  curiosity  of  tapsters  and  innkeepers  on  a  false 
scent.  During  the  course  of  their  brief  journey,  three 
different  and  inconsistent  reports  were  circulated  by  him 
on  their  account ;  namely,  first,  that  Tressilian  was  the 
Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  come  over  in  disguise  to  take 
the  queen's  pleasure  concerning  the  great  rebel  Rory 
Oge  Mac  Carthy  Mac  Mahon ;  secondly,  that  the  said 
Tressilian  was  an  agent  of  Monsieur,  coming  to  urge  his 
suit  to  the  hand  of  Elizabeth  ;  thirdly  that  he  was  the 
Duke  of  Medina,  come  over,  incognito,  to  adjust  the 
quarrel  betwixt  Philip  and  that  princess. 

Tressilian  was  angry,  and  expostulated  with  the  artist 
on  the  various  inconveniences,  and,  in  particular,  the 
unnecessary  degree  of  attention  to  which  they  were  sub- 
jected, by  the  figments  he  thus  circulated  ;  but  he  was 
pacified,  (for  who  could  be  proof  against  such  an  argu- 
ment ?)  by  Wayland's  assuring  him  that  a  general  impor- 
tance was  attached  to  his  own  (Tressilian's)  striking 
presence,  which  rendered  it  necessary  to  give  an  extra- 
ordinary reason  for  the  rapidity  and  secrecy  of  his 
journey.  *  ^ 

At  length  they  approached  the  metropolis,  where,  owing 
to  the  more  general  recourse  of  strangers,  their  appear  - 

15*      VOL.  I. 


174 


KENILWORTH. 


ance  excited  neither  observation  nor  inquiry,  and  finally 
they  entered  London  itself. 

It  was  Tressilian's  purpose  to  go  down  directly  to  Dept- 
ford,  where  Lord  Sussex  resided,  in  order  to  be  near  the 
court,  then  held  at  Greenwich,  the  favourite  residence  of 
Elizabeth,  and  honoured  as  her  birth-place.  Still  a  brief 
halt  in  London  was  necessary ;  and  it  was  somewhat  pro- 
longed by  the  earnest  entreaties  of  Wayland  Smith,  who 
desired  permission  to  take  a  walk  through  the  city. 

"  Take  thy  sword  and  buckler,  and  follow  me,  then," 
said  Tressilian.;  "  I  am  about  to  walk  myself,  and  we 
will  go  in  company." 

This  he  said,  because  he  was  not  altogether  so  secure 
of  the  fidelity  of  his  new  retainer,  as  to  leave  sight  of  him, 
at  this  interesting  moment,  when  rival  factions  at  the  court 
of  Elizabeth  were  running  so  high.  Wayland  Smith 
willingly  acquiesced  in  the  precaution,  of  which  he  proba- 
bly conjectured  the  motive,  but  only  stipulated  that  his 
master  should  enter  the  shops  of  such  chemists  or  apothe- 
caries as  he  should  point  out,  in  walking  through  Fleet 
Street,  and  permit  him  to  make  some  necessary  purchas- 
es. Tressilian  agreed  and  obeying  the  signal  of  his  attend- 
ant, walked  successively  into  more  than  four  or  five  shops, 
where  he  observed  that  Wayland  purchased  in  each  only 
one  single  drug,  in  various  quantities.  The  medicines 
which  he  first  asked  for,  were  readily  furnished  each  in 
succession,  but  those  which  he  afterwards  required  were 
less  easily  supplied — and  Tressilian  observed,  that  Way- 
land  more  than  once,  to  the  surprise  of  the  shop-keeper,  re- 
turned the  gum  or  herb  that  was  offered  to  him,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  exchange  it  for  the  right  sort,  or  else  went  on 
to  seek  it  elsewhere.  But  one  ingredient,  in  particular, 
seemed  almost  impossible  to  be  found.  Some  chemists 
plainly  admitted  they  had  never  seen  it, — others  denied 
that  such  a  drug  existed,  excepting  in  the  imagination  of 
crazy  alchemists,- — and  most  of  them  attempted  to  satisfy 
their  customer,  by  producing  some  substitute,  which,  when 
rejected  by  Wayland,  as  not  being  what  he  had  asked 
for,  they  maintained  possessed,  in  a  superior  degree,  the 


KENILWORTH. 


175 


self  same  qualities.  In  general,  they  all  displayed  some 
curiosity  concerning  the  purpose  for  which  he  wanted  it. 
One  old  meagre  chemist,  to  whom  the  artist  put  the  usual 
question,  in  terms  which  Tressilian  neither  understood,  nor 
could  recollect,  answered  frankly,  there  was  none  of  that 
drug  in  London,  unless  Yoglan  the  Jew  chanced  to  have 
some  of  it  upon  hand. 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  said  Wayland.  And  as  soon  as 
they  left  the  shop,  he  said  to  Tressilian,  "  I  crave  your 
pardon,  sir,  but  no  artist  can  work  without  his  tools.  I 
must  needs  go  to  this  Yoglan's  ;  and  I  promise  you,  that 
if  this  detains  you  longer  than  your  leisure  seems  to  per- 
mit, you  shall,  nevertheless,  be  well  repaid,  by  the  use  I 
will  make  of  this  rare  drug.  Permit  me,"  he  added, 
"  to  walk  before  you,  for  we  are  now  to  quit  the  broad 
street,  and  we  will  make  double  speed  if  I  lead  the  way." 

Tressilian  acquiesced,  and,  following  the  smith  down 
a  lane  which  turned  to  the  left  hand  towards  the  river, 
he  found  that  his  guide  walked  on  with  great  speed,  and 
apparently  perfect  knowledge  of  the  town,  through  a  lab- 
yrinth of  bye  streets,  courts,  and  blind  alleys,  until  at 
length  Wayland  paused  in  the  midst  of  a  very  narrow 
lane,  the  termination  of  which  showed  a  peep  of  the 
Thames,  looking  misty  and  muddy,  which  back-ground 
was  crossed  by  the  masts  of  two  lighters  that  lay  waiting 
for  the  tide.  The  shop  under  which  he  halted  had  not,  as 
in  modern  days,  a  glazed  window — but  a  paltry  canvass 
screen  surrounded  such  a  stall  as  a  cobbler  now  occupies, 
having  the  front  open,  much  in  the  manner  of  a  fish- 
monger's booth  of  the  present  day.  A  little  old  smock- 
faced  man,  the  very  reverse  of  a  Jew  in  complexion,  for 
he  was  very  soft-haired  as  well  as  beardless,  appeared, 
and  with  many  courtesies,  asked  Wayland  what  he  pleas- 
ed to  want.  He  had  no  sooner  named  the  drug  than  the 
Jew  started  and  looked  surprised.  "  And  vat  might  your 
vorship  vant  vith  that  drug  which  is  not  named,  mein  god, 
in  forty  years  I  have  been  chemist  here  ?" 


176 


KENILWORTH. 


"  These  questions  it  is  no  part  of  my  commission  to 
answer,"  said  Wayland  5  "  I  only  wish  to  know  if  you 
have  what  I  want,  and  having  it,  are  willing  to  sell  it  ?" 

"  Ay,  mein  god,  for  having  it  that  I  have,  and  for  sell- 
ing it  I  am  a  chemist,  and  sell  every  drug."  So  saying, 
he  exhibited  a  pow^R*,  and  then  continued,  "  But  it  will 
cost  much  monies — Vat  I  ave  cost  its  weight  in  gold — ay, 
gold  well-refined — I  vill  say  six  times— It  comes  from 
Mount  Sinai,  where  we  had  our  blessed  Law  given  forth, 
and  the  plant  blossoms  but  once  in  one  hundred  year." 

"  I  do  not  know  how  often  it  is  gathered  on  Mount 
Sinai,"  said  Wayland,  after  looking  at  the  drug  offered 
him,  with  great  disdain,  "  but  I  will  wager  my  sword 
and  buckler  against  your  gaberdine,  that  this  trash  you 
offer  me  instead  of  what  I  asked  for,  may  be  had  for 
gathering  on  the  castle-ditch  at  Aleppo." 

"  You  are  a  rude  man,"  said  the  Jew  ;  "  and  besides, 
I  ave  no  better  than  that— or  if  I  ave,  I  will  not  sell  it 
without  order  of  a  physician — or  without  you  tell  me  vat 
you  make  of  it." 

The  artist  made  brief  answer  in  a  language  of  which 
Tressilian  could  not  understand  a  word,  and  which  seem- 
ed to  strike  the  Jew  with  the  utmost  astonishment.  He 
stared  upon  Wayland  like  one  who  has  suddenly  recog- 
nized some  mighty  hero  or  dreaded  potentate,  in  the  per- 
son of  an  unknown  and-  unmarked  stranger.  "  Holy 
Elias  !"  he  exclaimed,  when  he  had  recovered  the  first 
stunning  effects  of  his  surprise  ;  and  then  passing  from 
his  former  suspicious  and  surly  manner  to  the  very  ex- 
tremity of  obsequiousness,  he  cringed  low  to  the  artist, 
and  besought  him  to  enter  his  poor  house,  to  bless  his 
miserable  threshold  by  crossing  it. 

"  Vill  you  not  taste  a  cup  with  the  poor  Jew  Zacha- 
rias  Yoglan  ? — Vill  you  Tokay  ave — vill  you  Lachrymae 
taste  ? — vill  you"  

"  You  offend  in  your  proffers,"  said  Wayland  ;  "  min- 
ister to  me  in  what  I  require  of  you,  and  forbear  further 
discourse." 


KEtflLWORTH. 


177 


The  rebuked  Israelite  took  his  bunch  of  keys  and 
opening  with  circumspection  a  cabinet  which  seemed 
more  strongly  secured  than  the  other  cases  of  drugs  and 
medicines  amongst  which  it  stood,  he  drew  out  a  little 
secret  drawer,  having  a  glass  lid,  and  containing  a  small 
portion  of  a  black  powder.  This  he  offered  to  Wayland, 
his  manner  conveying  the  deepest  devotion  towards  him, 
though  an  avaricious  and  jealous  expression  which  seem- 
ed to  grudge  every  grain,  of  what  his  customer  was  about 
to  possess  himself,  disputed  ground  in  his  countenance, 
with  the  obsequious  deference  which  he  desired  it  should 
exhibit. 

"  Have  you  scales  ?"  said  Wayland. 

The  Jew  pointed  to  those  which  lay  ready  for  common 
use  in  the  shop,  but  he  did  so  with  a  puzzled  expression 
of  doubt  and  fear,  which  did  not  escape  the  artist. 

"  They  must  be  other  than  these,"  said  Wayland 
sternly ;  "  know  you  not  that  holy  things  lose  their  vir- 
tue if  weighed  in  an  unjust  balance  ?" 

The  Jew  hung  his  head,  took  from  a  steel-plated  cask- 
et a  pair  of  scales  beautifully  mounted,  and  said,  as  he 
adjusted  them  for  the  artist's  use, — "  With  these  I  do 
mine  own  experiment — one  hair  of  the  high-priest's  beard 
would  turn  them." 

"  It  suffices,"  said  the  artist ;  and  weighed  out  two 
drachms  for  himself  of  the  black  powder,  which  he  very 
carefully  folded  up,  and  put  it  into  his  pouch  with  the 
other  drugs.  He  then  demanded  the  price  of  the  Jew, 
who  answered,  shaking  his  head  and  bowing, — 

"  No  price — no,  nothing  at  all  from  such  as  you. — But 
you  will  see  the  poor  Jew  again  ?  you  will  look  into  his 
laboratory,  where,  God  help  him,  he  hath  dried  himsell 
to  the  substance  of  the  withered  gourd  of  Jonah  the  holy 
prophet — You  vill  have  pity  on  him,  and  show  him  one 
little  step  on  the  great  road  ?" 

"  Hush  !"  said  Wayland,  laying  his  finger  mysterious- 
ly on  his  mouth,   "  It  may  be  we  shall  meet  again — thou 


178 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


hast  already  the  Scah-majm,  as  thine  own  Rabbis  call  it 
— the  general  creation  ;  watch,  therefore,  and  pray,  for 
thou  must  attain  the  knowledge  of  Alchahest  Elixir,  Sa- 
mech,  ere  I  may  commune  further  with  thee."  Then 
returning  with  a  slight  nod  the  reverential  conges  of  the 
Jew,  he  walked  gravely  up  the  lane,  followed  by  his  mas- 
ter, whose  first  observation  on  the  scene  he  had  just  wit- 
nessed, was,  that  Wayland  ought  to  have  paid  the  man  for 
his  drug,  whatever  it  was. 

"  I  pay  him  ?"  said  the  artist ;  "  may  the  foul  fiend 
pay  me  if  I  do  ! — Had  it  not  been  that  I  thought  it  might 
displeasure  your  worship,  I  would  have  had  an  ounce  or 
two  of  gold  out  of  him,  in  exchange  of  the  same  just 
weight  of  brick-dust.5' 

u  I  advise  you  to  practise  no  such  knavery  while 
waiting  upon  me,"  said  Tressilian. 

"  Did  I  not  say,"  answered  the  artist,  "  that  for  that 
reason  alone,  I  forbore  him  for  the  present. — Knavery, 
call  you  it  ? — why,  yonder  wretched  skeleton  hath  wealth 
sufficient  to  pave  the  whole  lane  he  lives  in  with  dollars, 
yet  scarce  miss  them  out  of  his  own  iron  chest ;  yet  he 
goes  mad  after  the  philosopher's  stone — and  besides  he 
would  have  cheated  a  poor  serving-man,  as  he  thought  me 
at  first,  with  trash  that  was  not  worth  a  penny — Match 
for  match,  quoth  the  devil  to  the  collier ;  if  his  false 
medicine  was  worth  my  good  crowns,  my  true  brick- 
dust  is  as  well  worth  his  good  gold." 

"  It  may  be  so  for  aught  I  know,"  said  Tressilian, 
"  in  dealing  amongst  Jews  and  apothecaries  ;  but  under- 
stand, that  to  have  such  tricks  of  legerdemain  practised 
by  one  attending  on  me,  diminishes  my  honour,  and  that 
I  will  not  permit  them.  I  trust  thou  hast  made  up  thy 
purchases  ?" 

"  I  have,  sir,"  replied  Wayland  ;  "  and  with  these 
drugs  will  I,  this  very  day,  compound  the  true  orvietan, 
that  noble  medicine  which  is  so  seldom  found  genuine  and 
effective  within  these  realms  of  Europe,  for  want  of  that 
most  rare  and  precious  drug  which  I  got  but  now  from 
Yoglan." 


KENIIiWORTH. 


179 


"  But  why  not  have  made  all  your  purchases  at  one 
shop  ?"  said  his  master  ;  "  we  have  lost  nearly  an  hour 
in  running  from  one  pounder  of  simples  to  another." 

"  Content  you,  sir,"  said  Wayland.  "  No  man  shall 
learn  my  secret  ;  and  it  would  not  be  mine  long,  were  I 
to  buy  all  my  materials  from  one  chemist." 

They  now  returned  to  their  inn,  (the  famous  Bell- 
Savage)  and  while  the  Lord  Sussex's  servant  prepared 
the  horses  for  their  journey,  Wayland  obtained  from  the 
cook  the  service  of  a  mortar,  shut  himself  up  in  a  pri- 
vate chamber,  where  he  mixed,  pounded,  and  amalga- 
mated the  drugs  which  he  had  bought,  each  in  its  due 
proportion,  with  a  readiness  and  address  that  plainly 
showed  him  well  practised  in  all  the  manual  operations  of 
pharmacy. 

By  the  time  Wayland's  electuary  was  prepared  the 
horses  were  ready,  and  a  short  hour's  riding  brought  them 
to  the  present  habitation  of  Lord  Sussex,  an  ancient  house, 
called  Say's  Court,  near  Deptford,  which  had  long  per- 
tained to  a  family  of  that  name,  but  had,  for  upwards  of 
a  century,  been  possessed  by  the  ancient  and  honourable 
family  of  Evelyn.  The  present  representative  of  that 
ancient  house  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Earl  of  Sussex, 
and  had  willingly  accommodated  both  him  and  his  nume- 
rous retinue  in  his  hospitable  mansion.  Say's  Court  was 
afterwards  the  residence  of  the  celebrated  Mr.  Evelyn, 
whose  "  Silva"  is  still  the  manual  of  British  planters  ; 
and  whose  life,  manners,  and  principles,  as  illustrated  in 
his  Memoirs,  ought  equally  to  be  the  manual  of  English 
gentlemen. 


180 


KENI1WORTH. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

This  is  rare  news  thou  tell'st  me,  my  good  fellow, 
There  are  two  bulls  fierce  battling  on  the  green, 
For  one  fair  heifer — if  the  one  goes  down 
Tht  dale  will  be  more  peaceful,  and  the  herd, 
Which  have  small  interest  in  their  brulziement, 
May  pasture  there  in  peace. 

Old  Play. 

Say's  Court  was  watched  like  a  beleaguered  fort  ; 
and  so  high  rose  the  suspicions  of  the  time,  that  Tressil- 
ian  and  his  attendants  were  stopped  and  questioned  re- 
peatedly by  sentinels,  both  on  foot  and  horseback,  as  they 
approached  the  abode  of  the  sick  earl.  In  truth,  the 
high  rank  which  Sussex  held  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  favour, 
and  his  known  and  avowed  rivalry  of  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter, caused  the  utmost  importance  to  be  attached  to  his 
welfare  ;  for,  at  that  period  we  treat  of,  all  men  doubted 
whether  he  or  the  Earl  of  Leicester  might  ultimately 
have  the  higher  rank  in  her  regard. 

Elizabeth,  like  many  of  her  sex,  was  fond  of  govern- 
ing by  factions,  so  as  to  balance  two  opposing  interests, 
and  reserve  in  her  own  hand  the  power  of  making  either 
predominate,  as  the  interest  of  the  state,  or  perhaps  as 
her  own  female  caprice,  (for  to  that  foible  even  she  was 
not  superior,)  might  finally  determine.  To  finesse — to 
hold  the  cards — to  oppose  one  interest  to  another — to 
bridle  him  who  thought  himself  highest  in  her  esteem,  by 
the  fears  he  must  entertain  of  another  equally  trusted,  if 
not  equally  beloved,  were  arts,  which  she  used  through 
her  reign,  and  which  enabled  her,  though  frequently  giv- 
ing way  to  the  weakness  of  favouritism,  to  prevent  most 
of  its  evil  effects  on  her  kingdom  and  government. 

The  two  nobles,  who  at  present  stood  as  rivals  in  her 
favour,  possessed  very  different  pretensions  to  share  it  ; 


KEWILWORTH. 


181 


yet  it  might  be  in  general  said,  that  the  Earl  of  Sussex 
had  been  most  serviceable  to  the  queen,  while  Leicester 
was  most  dear  to  the  woman.  Sussex  was,  according  to 
the  phrase  of  the  times,  a  martialist  ;  had  done  good 
service  in  Ireland,  and  in  Scotland,  and  especially  in  the 
great  northern  rebellion,  in  1569,  which  was  quelled  in  a 
great  measure,  by  his  military  talents.  He  was,  there- 
fore, naturally  surrounded  and  looked  up  to  by  those  who 
wished  to  make  arms  their  road  to  distinction.  The 
Earl  of  Sussex,  moreover,  was  of  more  ancient  and  hon- 
ourable descent  than  his  rival,  uniting  in  his  person  the 
representation  of  the  Fitz  Walters,  as  well  as  of  the  Rat- 
cliffes,  while  the  scutcheon  of  Leicester  was  stained  by 
the  degradation  of  his  grandfather,  the  oppressive  minis- 
ter of  Henry  VII.  and  scarce  improved  by  that  of  his 
father,  the  unhappy  Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumberland, 
executed  on  Tower-Hill,  August  22,  1553.  But  in  per- 
son, features,  and  address,  weapons  so  formidable  in  the 
court  of  a  female  sovereign,  Leicester  had  advantage 
more  than  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the  military  ser- 
vices, high  blood,  and  frank  bearing  of  the  Earl  of  Sus- 
sex ;  and  he  bore  in  the  eye  of  the  court  and  kingdom, 
the  higher  share  in  Elizabeth's  favour,  though  (for  such 
was  her  uniform  policy)  by  no  means  so  decidedly  ex- 
pressed as  to  warrant  him  against  the  final  preponderance 
of  his  rival's  pretensions.  The  illness  of  Sussex  there- 
fore happened  so  opportunely  for  Leicester,  as  to  give 
rise  to  strange  surmises  among  the  public  ;  while  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  one  earl  were  filled  with  the  deepest  appre- 
hensions, and  those  of  the  other  with  the  highest  hopes  of 
its  probable  issue.  Meanwhile, — for  in  that  old  time  men 
never  forgot  the  probability  that  the  matter  might  be  de- 
termined by  length  of  sword, — the  retainers  of  each  noble 
flocked  around  their  patron,  appeared  well  armed  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  court  itself,  and  disturbed  the  ear  of  the 
sovereign  by  their  frequent  and  alarming  debates,  held 
even  within  the  precincts  of  her  palace.    This  prelimina- 

16     VOL.  I. 


182 


KE  NIX  WORTH. 


ry  statement  is  necessary,  to  render  what  follows  intelli- 
gible to  the  reader. 

On  Tressilian's  arrival  at  Say's  Court,  he  found  the 
place  filled  with  the  retainers  of  the  Earl  of  Sussex,  and 
of  the  gentlemen  who  came  to  attend  their  patron  in  his 
illness.  Arms  were  in  every  hand,  and  a  deep  gloom  on 
every  countenance,  as  if  they  had  apprehended  an  imme- 
diate and  violent  assault  from  the  opposite  faction.  In  the 
hall,  however,  to  which  Tressilian  was  ushered  by  one 
of  the  earl's  attendants,  while  another  went  to  inform 
Sussex  of  his  arrival,  he  found  only  two  gentlemen  in 
waiting.  There  was  a  remarkable  contrast  betwixt  their 
dress,  appearance,  and  manners.  The  attire  of  the  elder 
gentleman,  a  person  as  it  seemed  of  quality  and  in  the 
prime  of  life,  was  very  plain  and  soldier-like,  his  stature 
low,  and  his  features  of  that  kind  which  express  sound 
common  sense,  without  a  grain  of  vivacity  or  imagination. 
The  younger,  who  seemed  about  twenty,  or  upwards,  was 
clad  in  the  gayest  habit  used  by  persons  of  quality  at  the 
period,  wearing  a  crimson  velvet  cloak  richly  ornamented 
with  lace  and  embroidery,  with  a  bonnet  of  the  same, 
encircled  with  a  gold  chain  turned  three  times  round  it, 
and  secured  by  a  medal.  His  hair  was  adjusted  very 
nearly  like  that  of  some  fine  gentlemen  of  our  own  time, 
that  is,  it  was  combed  upwards,  and  made  to  stand  as  it 
were  on  end,  and  in  his  ears  he  wore  a  pair  of  silver 
ear-rings,  having  each  a  pearl  of  considerable  size.  The 
countenance  of  this  youth,  besides  being  regularly  hand- 
some and  accompanied  by  a  fine  person,  was  animated 
and  striking  in  a  degree  that  seemed  to  speak  at  once  the 
firmness  of  a  decided  and  the  *fire  of  an  enterprizing 
character,  the  power  of  reflection,  and  the  promptitude 
of  determination. 

Both  these  gentleman  reclined  nearly  in  the  same  pos- 
ture on  benches  near  each  other  ;  but  each  seeming 
engaged  in  his  own  meditations,  looked  straight  upon  the 
wall  which  was  opposite  to  them,  without  speaking  to  his 
companion.     The  looks  of  the  elder  were  of  that  sort, 


KENIIiWORTH. 


183 


which  convinced  the  beholder,  that,  in  looking  on  the 
wall,  he  saw  no  more  than  the  side  of  an  old  hall  hung 
around  with  cloaks,  antlers,  bucklers,  old  pieces  of  arm- 
our, partizans,  and  the  similar  articles  which  were  usually 
the  furniture  of  such  a  place.  The  look  of  the  younger 
gallant  had  in  it  something  imaginative  ;  he  was  sunk  in 
reverie,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  empty  space  of  air  be- 
twixt him  and  the  wall,  were  the  stage  of  a  theatre  on 
which  his  fancy  was  mustering  his  own  dramatis  personae, 
and  treating  him  with  sights  far  different  from  those  which 
his  awakened  and  earthly  vision  could  have  offered. 

At  the  entrance  of  Tressilian  both  started  from  their 
musing,  and  bade  him  welcome  ;  the  younger,  in  partic- 
ular, with  great  appearance  of  animation  and  cordiality. 

"  Thou  art  welcome,  Tressilian,"  said  the  youth  ; 
"  thy  philosophy  stole  thee  from  us  when  this  household 
had  objects  of  ambition  to  offer — it  is  an  honest  philoso- 
phy, since  it  returns  thee  to  us,  when  there  are  only  dan- 
gers to  be  shared." 

"  Is  my  lord,  then,  so  dangerously  indisposed  ?"  said 
Tressilian. 

"  We  fear  the  very  worst,"  answered  the  elder  gen- 
tleman, "  and  by  the  worst  practice." 

"  Fye,"  replied  Tressilian,  "  my  Lord  of  Leicester 
is  honourable." 

"  What  doth  he  with  such  attendants,  then,  as  he  hath 
about  him  ?"  said  the  younger  gallant.  "  The  man  who 
raises  the  devil  may  be  honest,  but  he  is  answerable  for 
the  mischief  which  the  fiend  does,  for  all  that." 

"  And  is  this  all  that  are  of  you,  my  mates,"  said 
Tressilian,  "  that  are  about  my  lord  in  his  utmost  straits  ?" 

"  No,  no,"  replied  the  elder  gentleman,  "  There  are 
Tracy,  Markham,  and  several  more  ;  but  we  keep  watch 
here  by  two  at  once,  and  some  are  weary  and  are  sleep- 
ing in  the  gallery  above." 

"  And  some,"  said  the  young  man,  "  are  gone  down 
to  the  Dock  yonder  at  Deptford,  to  look  out  such  a  hulk 
as  they  may  purchase  by  clubbing  their  broken  fortunes  ; 
and  so  soon  as  all  is  over,  we  will  lay  our  noble  lord  in  a 


184 


KENIL  WORTH. 


noble  green  grave,  have  a  blow  at  those  who  have  hurried 
him  thither,  if  opportunity  suits,  and  then  sail  for  the 
Indies  with  hearts  as  light  as  our  purses." 

"  It  may  be,"  said  Tressilian,  «  an  I  will  embrace  the 
same  purpose,  so  soon  as  I  have  settled  some  business  at 
court." 

"  Thou  business  at  court !"  they  both  exclaimed  at 
once  ;  "  and  thou  make  the  Indian  voyage  !" 

"  Why,  Tressilian,"  said  the  younger  man,  "  art  thou 
not  wedded,  and  beyond  these  flaws  of  fortune,  that  drive 
folks  out  to  sea  when  their  bark  bears  fairest  for  the 
haven  ? — What  has  become  of  the  lovely  Indamira  that 
was  to  match  my  Amoret  for  truth  and  beauty-?" 

"  Speak  not  of  her !"  said  Tressilian,  averting  his  face. 

"  Ay,  stands  it  so  with  you  ?"  said  the  youth,  taking 
his  hand  very  affectionately  ;  "  then,  fear  not  I  will  again 
touch  the  green  wound — But  it  is  strange  as  well  as  sad 
news.  Are  none  of  our  fair  and  merry  fellowship  to 
escape  shipwreck  of  fortune  and  happiness  in  this  sudden 
tempest  ?  I  had  hoped  thou  wert  in  harbour,  at  least,  my 
dear  Edmund — But  truly  says  another  dear  friend  of  thy 
name, 

1  What  man  that  sees  the  ever  whirling  wheel 

Of  Chance,  the  which  all  mortal  things  doth  sway  ; 

But  that  thereby  doth  find  and  plainly  feel, 

How  Mutability  in  them  doth  play 

Her  cruel  sports  to  many  men's  decay.'  " 

The  elder  gentleman  had  risen  from  his  bench,  and 
was  pacing  the  hall  with  some  impatience,  while  the 
youth,  with  much  earnestness  and  feeling,  recited  these 
lines.  When  he  had  done,  the  other  wrapped  himself  in 
his  cloak,  and  again  stretched  himself  down,  saying,  "  I 
marvel,  Tressilian,  you  will  feed  the  lad  in  this  silly  hu- 
mour. If  there  were  aught  to  draw  a  judgment  upon  a 
virtuous  and  honourable  household  like  my  lord's,  re- 
nounce me  if  I  think  not  it  were  this  piping,  whining, 
childish  trick  of  poetry  that  came  among  us  with  Master 
Walter  Wittypate  here  and  his  comrades,  twisting  into  all 


KENILWORTH. 


J85 


manner  of  uncouth  and  incomprehensible  forms  of  speech 
the  honest  plain  English  phrase  which  God  gave  us  to 
express  our  meaning  withal." 

"  Blount  believes,"  said  his  comrade,  laughing,  "  the 
devil  woo'd  Eve  in  rhyme,  and  that  the  mystic  meaning 
of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  refers  solely  to  the  art  of 
clashing  rhymes  and  meting  out  hexameters." 

At  this  moment  the  earl's  chamberlain  entered,  and  in- 
formed Tressilian  that  his  lord  required  to  speak  with  him. 

He  found  Lord  Sussex  dressed,  but  unbraced  and 
lying  on  his  couch,  and  was  shocked  at  the  alteration  dis- 
ease had  made  in  his  person.  The  earl  received  him 
with  the  most  friendly  cordiality,  and  inquired  into  the 
state  of  his  courtship.  Tressilian  evaded  his  inquiries 
for  a  moment,  and  turning  his  discourse  on  the  earl's  own 
health,  he  discovered,  to  his  surprise,  that  the  symptoms 
of  his  disorder  corresponded  minutely  with  those  which 
Wayland  had  predicated  concerning  it.  He  hesitated 
not,  therefore,  to  communicate  to  Sussex  the  whole  histo- 
ry of  his  attendant,  and  the  pretensions  he  set  up  to  cure 
the  disorder  under  which  he  laboured.  The  earl  listened 
with  incredulous  attention  until  the  name  of  Demetrius 
was  mentioned,  and  then  suddenly  called  to  his  secretary 
to  bring  him  a  certain  casket  which  contained  papers  of 
importance.  "  Take  out  from  thence,  he  said,  "  the 
declaration  of  the  rascal  cook  whom  we  had  under  exam- 
ination, and  look  needfully  if  the  name  of  Demetrius  be 
not  there  mentioned." 

The  secretary  turned  to  the  passage  at  once,  and  read, 
"  And  said  declarant,  being  examined,  saith,  That  he 
remembers  having  made  the  sauce  to  the  said  sturgeon- 
fish,  after  eating  of  which,  the  said  noble  lord  was  taken 
ill ;  and  he  put  the  usual  ingredients  and  condiments 
therein,  namely"  

"  Pass  over  his  trash,"  said  the  earl,  "  and  see  whether 
he  had  not  been  supplied  with  his  materials  by  a  herbalist 
called  Demetrius." 

16*     VOL.  I. 


186 


KENILWORTH. 


"  It  is  even  so,"  answered  the  secretary.  "  And  he 
adds,  he  has  not  since  seen  the  said  Demetrius." 

"  This  accords  with  thy  fellow's  story,  Tressilian," 
said  the  earl  ;  "  call  him  hither." 

On  being  summoned  to  the  earl's  presence,  Wayland 
Smith  told  his  former  tale  with  firmness  and  consistency. 

"  It  may  be,"  said  the  earl,  "  thou  art  sent  by  those 
who  have  begun  this  work,  to  end  it  for  them  ;  but  be- 
think, if  I  miscarry  under  thy  medicine,  it  may  go  hard 
with  thee." 

"  That  were  severe  measure,"  said  Wayland,  "  since 
ihe  issue  of  medicine,  and  the  end  of  life  are  in  God's 
disposal.  But  I  will  stand  the  risk.  I  have  not  lived  so 
long  under  ground,  to  be  afraid  of  a  grave." 

"  Nay,  if  thou  be'st  so  confident,"  said  the  Earl  of  Sus- 
sex, "  I  will  take  the  risk  too,  for  the  learned  can  do 
nothing  for  me.  Tell  me  how  this  medicine  is  to  be  taken." 

"  That  will  I  do  presently,"  said  Wayland  ;  "  but 
allow  me  to  condition  that,  since  I  incur  all  the  risk  of 
this  treatment,  no  other  physician  shall  be  permitted  to 
interfere  with  it." 

"  That  is  but  fair,"  replied  the  earl  ;  "  and  now  pre- 
pare your  drug." 

While  Wayland  obeyed  the  earl's  commands,  his  ser- 
vants, by  the  artist's  direction,  undressed  their  master, 
and  placed  him  in  bed. 

"  I  warn  you,"  he  said,  "  that  the  first  operation  of 
this  medicine  will  be  to  produce  a  heavy  sleep,  during 
which  time  the  chamber  must  be  kept  undisturbed  ;  as 
the  consequences  may  otherwise  be  fatal.  I  myself  will 
watch  by  the  earl,  with  any  of  the  gentlemen  of  his 
chamber." 

"  Let  all  leave  the  room,  save  Stanley  and  this  good 
fellow,"  said  the  earl. 

"  And  paving  me  also,"  said  Tressilian.  "  I  too  am 
deeply  interested  in  the  effects  of  this  potion." 

"  Be  it  so,  good  friend,"  said  the  earl ;  "  and  now 
for  our  experiment ;  but  first  call  my  secretary  and  cham- 
berlain." 


KENILWORTH. 


187 


"  Bear  witness,"  he  continued,  when  these  officers 
arrived,  "  bear  witness  for  me,  gentlemen,  that  our  hon- 
ourable friend  Tressilian  is  in  no  way  responsible  for  the 
effects  which  this  medicine  may  produce  upon  me,  the 
taking  it  being  my  own  free  action  and  choice,  in  regard 
I  believe  it  to  be  a  remedy  which  God  has  furnished  me 
by  unexpected  means,  to  recover  me  of  my  present  mal- 
ady. Commend  me  to  my  noble  and  princely  mistress  ; 
and  say  that  I  live  and  die  her  true  servant,  and  wish  to 
all  about  her  throne  the  same  singleness  of  heart  and  will 
to  serve  her,  with  more  ability  to  do  so  than  hath  been 
assigned  to  poor  Thomas  Ratcliffe." 

He  then  folded  his  hands,  and  seemed  for  a  second  or 
two  absorbed  in  mental  devotion,  then  took  the  potion  in 
his  hand,  and,  pausing,  regarded  Wayland  with  a  look 
that  seemed  designed  to  penetrate  his  very  soul,  but 
which  caused  no  anxiety  or  hesitation  in  the  countenance 
or  manner  of  the  artist.  • 

"  Here  is  nothing  to  be  feared,"  said  Sussex  to  Tres- 
silian ;  and  swallowed  the  medicine  without  farther  hesi- 
tation. 

"  I  am  now  to  pray  your  lordship,"  said  Wayland, 
"  to  dispose  yourself  to  rest  as  commodiously  as  you  can  ; 
and  of  you,  gentlemen,  to  remain  as  still  and  mute  as  if 
you  wait  j    at  your  mother's  death-bed." 

The  chamberlain  and  secretary  then  withdrew,  giving 
orders  that  all  doors  be  bolted,  and  all  noise  in  the  house 
strictly  prohibited.  Several  gentlemen  were  voluntary 
watchers  in  the  hall,  but  none  remained  in  the  chamber 
of  the  sick  earl,  save  his  groom  of  the  chamber,  Stanley, 
the  artist,  and  Tressilian. — Wayland  Smith's  predictions 
were  speedily  accomplished,  and  a  sleep  fell  upon  the 
earl,  so  deep  and  sound,  that  they  who  watched  his  bed- 
side began  to  fear,  that,  in  his  weakened  state,  he  might 
pass  away  without  awakening  from  his  lethargy.  Way- 
land  Smith  himself  appeared  anxious,  and  felt  the  tem- 
ples of  the  earl  slightly,  from  time  to  time,  attending 
particularly  to  the  state  of  respiration,  which  was  full  and 
deep,  but  at  the  same  time  easy  and  uninterrupted. 


188 


KENIIWORTH. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

You  logger-headed  and  unpolished  grooms, 
What,  no  attendance,  no  regard,  no  duty  ? 
Where  is  the  foolish  knave  I  sent  before  ? 

Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

There  is  no  period  at  which  men  look  worse  in  the 
eyes  of  each  other,  or  feel  more  uncomfortable,  than 
when  the  first  dawn  of  daylight  finds  them  watchers. 
Even  a  beauty  of  the  first  order,  after  the  vigils  of  a  ball 
are  interrupted  by  the  dawn,  would  do  wisely  to  with- 
draw herself  from  the  gaze  of  her  fondest  and  most  par- 
tial admirers.  Such  was  the  pale,  inauspicious,  and  un- 
grateful light,  which  began  to  beam  upon  those  who  kept 
watch  all  night,  in  the  hall  at  Say's  Court,  and  which 
mingled  its  cold  pale  blue  diffusion  with  the  red,  yellow, 
and  smoky  beams  of  expiring  lamps  and  torches.  The 
young  gallant,  whom  we  noticed  in  our  last  chapter,  had 
left  the  room  for  a  few  minutes  to  learn  the  cause  of  a 
knocking  at  the  outward  gate,  and  on  his  return  was  so 
struck  with  the  forlorn  and  ghastly  aspects  of  his  compan- 
ions of  the  watch,  that  he  exclaimed,  "  Pity  of  my 
heart,  my  masters,  how  like  owls  you  look  !  Methinks, 
when  the  sun  rises,  I  shall  see  you  flutter  off  with  your 
eyes  dazzled,  to  stick  yourselves  into  the  next  ivy-tod  or 
ruined  steeple." 

"  Hold  thy  peace,  thou  gibing  fool,"  said  Blount, 
"  hold  thy  peace.  Is  this  a  time  for  jeering,  when  the 
manhood  of  England  is  perchance  dying  within  a  wall's 
breadth  of  thee  ?" 

'  There  thou  liest,"  replied  the  gallant. 

"  How,  lie  !"  exclaimed  Blount,  starting  up,  "  lie, 
and  to  me  ?" 

"  Why,  so  thou  didst,  thou  peevish  fool,"  answered 
the  youth  ;  "  thou  didst  lie  on  that  bench  even  now,  didst 


KENILWORTH. 


189 


thou  not  ?  But  art  thou  not  a  hasty  coxcomb,  to  pick  up 
a  wry  word  so  wrathfully  ?  Nevertheless,  loving  and 
honouring  my  lord  as  truly  as  thou,  or  any  one,  I  do  say, 
that  should  Heaven  take  him  from  us,  all  England's  man- 
hood dies  not  with  him." 

"  Ay,"  replied  Blount,  "  a  good  portion  will  survive 
with  thee  doubtless." 

"  And  a  good  portion  with  thyself,  Blount,  and  with 
stout  Markham  here,  and  Tracy,  and  all  of  us.  But  I  am 
he  will  best  employ  the  talent  heaven  has  p;iven  to  us  all." 

«  As  how,  I  prithee  ?"  said  Blount  ;  "  tell  us  your 
mystery  of  multiplying." 

"  Why,  sirs,"  answered  the  youth,  "  ye  are  like  good- 
ly land,  which  bears  no  crop  because  it  is  not  quickened 
by  manure  ;  but  I  have  that  rising  spirit  in  me,  which 
will  make  my  poor  faculties  labour  to  keep  pace  with  it. 
My  ambition  will  keep  my  brain  at  work,  I  warrant  thee." 

"  I  pray  to  God  it  does  not  drive  thee  mad,"  said 
Blount  ;  "  for  my  part,  if  we  lose  our  noble  lord,  I  bid 
adieu  to  the  court  and  to  the  camp  both.  I  have  five 
hundred  foul  acres  in  Norfolk,  and  thither  will  I,  and 
change  the  court  pantoufle  for  the  country  hobnail." 

"  O  base  transmutation  !"  exclaimed  his  antagonist  ; 
"  thou  hast  already  got  the  true  rustic  slouch — thy  shoul- 
ders stoop,  as  if  thine  hands  were  at  the  stilts  of  the 
plough,  and  thou  hast  a  kind  of  earthly  smell  about  thee, 
instead  of  being  perfumed  with  essence,  as  a  gallant  and 
courtier  should.  On  my  soul,  thou  hast  stolen  out  to  roIJ 
thyself  on  a  hay  mow.  Thy  only  excuse  will  be  to  sweai 
by  thy  hilts,  that  a  farmer  had  a  fair  daughter." 

"  I  pray  tbee,  Walter,"  said  another  of  the  company, 
"  cease  thy  raillery,  which  suits  neither  time  nor  place, 
and  tell  us  who  was  at  the  gate  just  now." 

"  Doctor  Masters,  physician  to  her  grace  in  ordinary, 
sent  by  her  especial  orders  to  inquire  after  the  earl's 
health,"  answered  Walter. 

"  Ha  !  what !"  exclaimed  Tracy,  "  that  was  no  slight 
mark  of  favour  ;  if  the  earl  can  but  come  through,  he 


190 


KENILWORTH. 


will  match  with  Leicester  yet.  Is  Masters  with  my  lord 
at  present  ?" 

"  Nay,"  replied  Walter,  "  he  is  halfway  back  to  Green- 
wich by  this  time,  and  in  high  dudgeon." 

"  Thou  didst  not  refuse  him  admittance  ?"  exclaimed 
Tracy. 

"  Thou  wert  not  surely  so  mad  ?"  ejaculated  Blount. 

"  I  refused  him  admittance  as  flatly,  Blount,  as  you 
would  refuse  a  penny  to  a  blind  beggar  ;  as  obstinately, 
Tracy,  as  thou  didst  ever  deny  access  to  a  dun." 

Why,  in  the  fiend's  name,  didst  thou  trust  him  to  go 
to  the  gate  ?"  said  Blount  to  Tracy. 

"  It  suited  his  years  better  than  mine,"  answered  Tra- 
cy ;  "  but  he  has  undone  us  all  now  thoroughly.  My 
lord  may  live  or  die,  he  will  never  have  a  look  of  favour 
from  her  majesty  again." 

"  Nor  the  means  of  making  fortunes  for  his  followers," 
said  the  young  gallant,  smiling  contemptuously  ; — "  there 
li^S  the  SOre  point,  that  will  brook  no  handling.  My  good 
sirs,  I  sounded  my  lamentations  over  my  lord  somewhat 
less  loudly  than  some  of  you  ;  but  when  the  point  comes 
of  doing  him  service,  I  will  yield  to  none  of  you.  Had 
this  learned  leech  entered,  think'st  thou  not  there  had  been 
such  a  coil  betwixt  him  and  Tressilian's  mediciner,  that 
not  the  sleeper  only,  but  the  very  dead  might  have  awak- 
ened ?  I  know  what  'larum  belongs  to  the  discord  of 
doctors." 

"  And  who  is  to  take  the  blame  of  opposing  the  queen's 
orders?"  said  Tracy  ;  "  for  undeniably,  Doctor  Masters 
came  with  her  grace's  positive  commands  to  cure  the 
earl." 

"  I,  who  have  done  the  wrong,  will  bear  the  blame," 
said  Walter. 

"  Thus,  then,  off  fly  the  dreams  of  court  favour  thou 
hast  nourished,"  said  Blount ;  "  and  despite  all  thy  boast- 
ed art  and  ambition,  Devonshire  will  see  thee  shine  a  true 
younger  brother,  fit  to  sit  low  at  the  board,  carve  turn 
about  with  the  chaplain,  look  that  the  hounds  be  fed,  and 
see  the  squire's  girths  drawn  when  he  goes  a  hunting." 


KENILWORTH. 


191 


"  Not  so,"  said  the  young  man  colouring,  "  not  while 
Ireland  and  the  Netherlands  have  wars,  and  not  while  the 
sea  hath  pathless  waves.  The  rich  West  hath  lands  un- 
dreamed of,  and  Britain  contains  bold  hearts  to  venture 
on  the  quest  of  them. — Adieu  for  a  space,  my  masters, 
I  go  to  walk  in  the  court  and  look  to  the  sentinels." 

"  The  lad  hath  quicksilver  in  his  veins,  that  is  certain," 
said  Blount,  looking  at  Markham. 

"  He  hath  that  both  in  brain  and  blood,"  said  Mark- 
ham,  "  which  may  either  make  or  mar  him.  But,  in 
closing  the  door  against  Masters,  he  hath  done  a  daring 
and  loving  piece  of  service  ;  for  Tressilian's  fellow  hath 
ever  averred,  that  to  wake  the  earl  were  death,  and  Mas- 
ters would  wake  the  Seven  Sleepers  themselves,  if  he 
thought  they  slept  not  by  the  regular  ordinance  of  med- 
icine." 

Morning  was  well  advanced,  when  Tressilian,  fatigued 
and  over-watched,  came  down  to  the  hall  with  the  joyful 
intelligence,  that  the  earl  had  awakened  of  himself,  that 
he  found  his  internal  complaints  much  mitigated,  and 
spoke  with  a  cheerfulness,  and  looked  round  with  a  vi- 
vacity, which  of  themselves  showed  a  material  and  favour- 
able change  had  taken  place.  Tressilian  at  the  same  time 
commanded  the  attendance  of  one  or  two  of  his  followers, 
to  report  what  had  passed  during  the  night,  and  to  relieve 
the  watchers  in  the  earl's  chamber. 

When  the  message  of  the  queen  was  communicated  to 
the  Earl  of  Sussex,  he  at  first  smiled  at  the  repulse  which 
the  physician  had  received  from  his  zealous  young  fol- 
lower, but  instantly  recollecting  himself,  he  commanded 
Blount,  his  master  of  the  horse,  instantly  to  take  boat, 
and  go  down  the  river  to  the  Palace  at  Greenwich,  taking 
young  Walter  and  Tracy  with  him,  and  make  a  suitable 
.compliment,  expressing  his  grateful  thanks  to  his  sover- 
eign and  mentioning  the  cause  why  he  had  not  been  ena- 
bled to  profit  by  the  assistance  of  the  wise  and  learned 
Doctor  Masters. 

"  A  plague  on  it,"  said  Blount,  as  he  descended  the 
stairs,  "  had  he  sent  me  with  a  cartel  to  Leicester  I  think 


192 


KENTXWORTH. 


I  should  have  done  his  errand  indifferently  well.  But  to 
go  to  our  gracious  sovereign,  before  whom  all  words  must 
be  lackered  over  either  with  gilding  or  with  sugar,  is  such 
a  confectionary  matter  as  clean  baffles  my  poor  old  Eng- 
lish brain. — Come  with  me,  Tracy,  and  come  you  too, 
Master  Walter  Wittypate,  that  art  the  cause  of  our  hav- 
ing all  this  ado.  Let  us  see  if  thy  neat  brain,  that  frames 
so  many  flashy  fire-works,  can  help  out  a  plain  fellow  at 
need  with  some  of  thy  shrewd  devices." 

"  Never  fear,  never  fear,"  exclaimed  the  youth,  "  it  is 
I  will  help  you  through — let  me  but  fetch  my  cloak." 

"  Why,  thou  hast  it  on  thy  shoulders,"  said  Blount-*- 
"  the  lad  is  mazed." 

"  No,  this  is  Tracy's  old  mantle,"  answered  Walter  ; 
"  I  go  not  with  thee  to  court  unless  as  a  gentleman  should." 

"  Why,"  said  Blount,  "  thy  braveries  are  like  to  dazzle 
the  eyes  of  none  but  some  poor  groom  or  porter." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  the  youth  ;  "  but  I  am  resolved 
I  will  have  my  own  cloak,  ay,  and  brush  my  doublet  to 
boot,  ere  I  stir  forth  with  you." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Blount,  "  here  is  a  coil  about  a 
doublet  and  a  cloak — get  thyself  ready,  a  God's  name." 

They  were  soon  launched  on  the  princely  bosom  of 
the  broad  Thames,  upon  which  the  sun  now  shone  forth 
in  all  its  splendour. 

"  There  are  two  things  scarce  matched  in  the  uni- 
verse," said  Walter  to  Blount, — "  the  sun  in  heaven,  and 
the  Thames  on  the  earth." 

"  The  one  will  light  us  to  Greenwich  well  enough," 
said  Blount,  "  and  the  other  would  take  us  there  a  little 
faster  if  it  were  ebb  tide." 

"  And  this  is  all  thou  think'st — all  thou  carest — all  thou 
deem'st  the  use  of  the  King  of  elements,  and  the  King  of 
Rivers,  to  guide  three  such  poor  caitiffs,  as  thyself,  and 
me,  and  Tracy,  upon  an  idle  journey  of  courtly  cer- 
emony !" 

"  It  is  no  errand  of  my  seeking,  faith,"  replied  Blount, 
"  and  1  could  excuse  both  the  sun  and  the  Thames,  the 
trouble  of  carrying  me  where  I  have  no  great  mind  to 


KEJVIIAVGUTH. 


193 


go  ;  and  where  I  expect  but  dog's  wages  for  my  trouble 
0.  — And  by  my  honour,"  he  added,  looking  out  from  the 
head  of  the  boat,  "  it  seems  to  me  as  if  our  message  were  a 
sort  of  labour  in  vain  ;  for  see,  the  queen's  barge  lies  at 
the  stairs,  as  if  her  majesty  were  about  to  take  water." 

It  was  even  so.  The  royal  barge  manned  with  the 
queen's  watermen,  richly  attired  in  the  regal  liveries,  and 
having  the  banner  of  England  displayed,  did  indeed  lie  at 
the  great  stairs  which  ascended  from  the  river,  and  along 
with  it  two  or  three  other  boats  for  transporting  such  part 
of  her  retinue  as  were  not  in  immediate  attendance  on 
the  royal  person.  The  yeomen  of  the  guard,  the  tallest 
and  most  handsome  men  whom  England  could  produce, 
guarded  with  their  halberts  the  passage  from  the  palace- 
gate  to  the  river  side,  and  all  seemed  in  readiness  for  the 
queen's  coming  forth,  although  the  day  was  yet  so  early. 

"  By  my  faith,  this  bodes  us  no  good,"  said  Blount  ; 
u  it  must  be  some  perilous  cause  that  puts  her  grace  in 
motion  thus  untimeously.  By  my  counsel,  we  were  best 
put  back  again,  and  tell  the  earl  what  we  have  seen." 

"  Tell  the  earl  what  we  have  seen  !"  said  Walter, 
"  why  what  have  we  seen  but  a  boat,  and  men  with  scarlet 
jerkins,  and  halberts  in  their  hands  ?  Let  us  do  his  errand, 
and  tell  him  what  the  queen  says  in  reply." 

So  saying  he  caused  the  boat  to  pull  towards  a  landing- 
place  at  some  distance  from  the  principal  one,  which  it 
would  not,  at  that  moment,  have  been  thought  respectful 
to  approach,  and  jumped  on  shore,  followed,  though  with 
reluctance,  by  his  cautious  and  timid  companion,  Blount. 
As  they  approached  the  gate  of  the  palace,  one  of  the 
sergeant  porters  told  them  they  could  not  at  present  enter, 
as  her  majesty  was  in  the  act  of  coming  forth.  The 
gentlemen  used  the  name  of  the  Earl  of  Sussex  ;  but  it 
proved  no  charm  to  subdue  tlie  officer,  who  alleged  in 
reply,  that  it  was  as  much  as  his  post  was  worth,  to  disobey 
in  the  least  tittle  the  commands  which  he  had  received. 

"  Nay,  I  told  you  as  much  before,"  said  Blount ;  "  do, 
I  pray  you,  my  dear  Walter,  let  us  take  boat  and  return." 

17     TOLi.  I* 


194 


KENILWORTH. 


"  Not  till  I  see  the  queen  come  forth,"  returned  the 
youth,  composedly. 

"  Thou  art  mad,  stark  mad,  by  the  mass,"  answered 
Blount. 

"  And  thou,"  said  Walter,  «  art  turned  coward  of  the 
sudden.  I  have  seen  thee  face  half  a  score  of  shag- 
headed  Irish  kernes  to  thy  own  share  of  them,  and  now 
thou  wouldst  blink  and  go  back  to  shun  the  frown  of  a 
fair  lady  !" 

At  this  moment  the  gates  opened,  and  ushers  began  to 
issue  forth  in  array,  preceded  and  flanked  by  the  band 
of  gentlemen  pensioners.  After  this,  amid  a  crowd  of 
lords  and  ladies,  yet  so  disposed  around  her  that  she  could 
see  and  be  seen  on  all  sides,  came  Elizabeth  herself,  then 
in  the  prime  of  womanhood,  and  in  the  full  glow  of  what 
in  a  sovereign  was  called  beauty,  and  who  would  in  the 
lowest  rank  of  life  have  been  truly  judged  a  noble  fig- 
ure, joined  to  a  striking  and  commanding  physiognomy. 
She  leant  on  the  arm  of  Lord  Hunsdon,  whose  relation 
to  her  by  her  mother's  side  often  procured  him  such  dis- 
tinguished marks  of  Elizabeth's  intimacy. 

The  young  cavalier  we  have  so  often  mentioned  had 
probably  never  yet  approached  so  near  the  person  of  his 
sovereign,  and  he  pressed  forward  as  far  as  the  line  of 
warders  permitted,  in  order  to  avail  himself  of  the  present 
opportunity.  His  companion,  on  the  contrary,  cursing 
his  imprudence,  kept  drawing  him  backwards,  till  Walter 
shook  him  off  impatiently,  and  letting  his  rich  cloak  drop 
carelessly  from  one  shoulder  ;  a  natural  action,  which 
served,  however,  to  display  to  the  best  advantage  his  well- 
proportioned  person.  Unbonneting  at  the  same  time,  he 
fixed  his  eager  gaze  on  the  queen's  approach,  with  a  mix- 
ture of  respectful  curiosity,  and  modest  yet  ardent  admi- 
ration, which  suited  so  well  with  his  fine  features,  that  the 
warders,  struck  with  his  rich  attire  and  noble  countenance, 
suffered  him  to  approach  the  ground  over  which  the  queen 
was  to  pass,  somewhat  closer  than  was  permitted  to  ordi- 
nary spectators.  Thus  the  adventurous  youth  stood  full 
in  Elizabeth's  eye, — an  eye  never  indifferent  to  the  admi- 


KENIX  "WORTH. 


195 


ration  which  she  deservedly  excited  among  her  subjects, 
or  to  the  fair  proportions  of  external  form  which  chanced 
to  distinguish  any  of  her  courtiers.  Accordingly,  she 
fixed  her  keen  glance  on  the  youth,  as  she  approached 
the  place  where  he  stood,  with  a  look  in  which  surprise 
at  his  boldness  seemed  to  be  unmingled  with  resentment, 
while  a  trifling  accident  happened  which  attracted  her 
attention  towards  him  yet  more  strongly.  The  night  had 
been  rainy,  and  just  where  the  young  gentleman  stood,  a 
small  quantity  of  mud  interrupted  the  queen's  passage. 
As  she  hesitated  to  pass  on,  the  gallant,  throwing  his 
cloak  from  his  shoulders,  laid  it  on  the  miry  spot,  so  as  to 
ensure  her  stepping  over  it  dry-shod.  Elizabeth  looked 
at  the  young  man,  who  accompanied  this  act  of  devoted 
courtesy  with  a  profound  reverence,  and  a  blush  that  over- 
spread his  whole  countenance.  The  queen  was  confused, 
and  blushed  in  her  turn,  nodded  her  head,  hastily  passed 
on,  and  embarked  in  her  barge  without  saying  a  word. 

"  Come  along,  sir  coxcomb,"  said  Blount ;  "  your 
gay  cloak  will  need  the  brush  to-day,  I  wot.  Nay,  if  you 
had  meant  to  make  a  footcloth  of  your  mantle,  better 
have  kept  Tracy's  old  drab-de-buree,  which  despises 
all  colours." 

"  This  cloak,"  said  the  youth,  taking  it  up  and  folding 
it,  "  shall  never  be  brushed  while  in  my  possession." 

"  And  that  will  not  be  long,  if  you  learn  not  a  little 
more  economy — we  shall  have  you  in  cuerpo  soon,  as  the 
Spaniard  says." 

Their  discourse  was  here  interrupted  by  one  of  the 
band  of  pensioners. 

"  I  was  sent,"  said  he,  after  looking  at  them  attentively, 
"  to  a  gentleman  who  hath  no  cloak,  or  a  muddy  one. — 
You  sir,  I  think,"  addressing  the  younger  cavalier,  "  are 
the  man  ;  you  will  please  to  follow  me." 

"  He  is  in  attendance  on  me,"  said  Blount,  "  on  me, 
the  noble  Earl  of  Sussex's  master  of  horse." 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  that,"  answered  the  messen- 
ger ;  "  my  orders  are  directly  from  her  majesty,  and 
concern  this  gentleman  only." 


J  96 


KENILWORTK. 


So  saying,  he  walked  away,  followed  by  Walter,  leav- 
ing Blount  behind,  with  his  eyes  almost  starting  from  his 
head  with  the  excess  of  his  astonishment.  At  length  he 
gave  vent  to  it  in  an  exclamation — "  Who  the  good  jere 
would  have  thought  this  !"  And  shaking  his  head  with  a 
mysterious  air,  he  walked  to  his  own  boat,  embarked,  and 
returned  to  Deptford. 

The  young  cavalier  was,  in  the  meanwhile,  guided  to 
the  water-side  by  the  pensioner,  who  showed  him  consid- 
erable respect  ;  a  circumstance  which,  to  persons  in  his 
situation,  may  be  considered  as  an  augury  of  no  small  con- 
sequence. He  ushered  him  into  one  of  the  wherries  which 
lay  ready  to  attend  the  queen's  barge,  which  was  already 
proceeding  up  the  river,  with  the  advantage  of  that  flood- 
tide,  of  which,  in  the  course  of  their  descent,  Blount  had 
complained  to  his  associates. 

The  two  rowers  used  their  oars  with  such  expedition 
at  the  signal  of  the  gentleman  pensioner,  that  they  very 
soon  brought  their  little  skiff  under  the  stern  of  the  queen's 
boat,  where  she  sat  beneath  an  awning,  attended  by  two 
or  three  ladies,  and  the  nobles  of  her  household.  She 
looked  more  than  once  at  the  wherry  in  which  the  young 
adventurer  was  seated,  spoke  to  those  around  her,  and 
seemed  to  laugh.  At  length  one  of  the  attendants,  by 
the  queen's  order  apparently,  made  a  sign  for  the  wherry 
to  come  along  side,  and  the  young  man  was  desired  to 
step  from  his  own  skiff  into  the  queen's  barge,  which  he 
performed  with  graceful  agility  a*  the  fore  part  of  the  boat, 
and  was  brought  aft  to  the  queen's  presence,  the  wherry 
at  the  same  time  dropping  into  the  rear.  The  youth  un- 
derwent the  gaze  of  majesty,  not  the  less  gracefully  that 
his  self-possession  was  mingled  with  embarrassment. 
The  mudded  cloak  still  hung  upon  his  arm,  and  formed 
the  natural  topic  with  which  the  queen  introduced  the 
conversation. 

"  You  have  this  day  spoiled  a  gay  mantle  in  our  service, 
young  man.  We  thank  you  for  your  service,  though  the 
manner  of  offering  it  was  unusual,  and  something  bold." 


KENILWORTU. 


197 


"  In  a  sovereign's  need,"  answered  the  youth,  "  it  is 
each  liege-man's  duty  to  be  bold." 

"  God's  pity  !  that  was  well  said,  my  lord,"  said  the 
queen,  turning  to  a  grave  person  who  sat  by  her,  and  an- 
swered with  a  grave  inclination  of  the  head,  and  some- 
thing of  a  mumbled  assent.  "  Well,  young  man,  your 
gallantry  shall  not  go  unrewarded.  Go  to  the  wardrobe 
keeper,  and  he  shall  have  orders  to  supply  the  suit  which 
you  have  cast  away  in  our  service.  Thou  shalt  have  a 
suit,  and  that  of  the  newest  cut,  I  promise  thee,  on  the 
word  of  a  princess." 

"  May  it  please  your  grace,"  said  Walter,  hesitating,  "  it 
is  not  for  so  humble  a  servant  of  your  majesty  to  measure 
out  your  bounties  ;  but  if  it  became  me  to  choose"  

"  Thou  wrouldst  have  gold,  I  warrant  me,"  said  the 
queen,  interrupting  him  ;  "  fie,  young  man  !  I  take  shame 
to  say,  that,  in  our  capital  such  and  so  various  are  the 
means  of  thriftless  folly,  that  to  give  gold  to  youth  is  giv- 
ing fuel  to  fire,  and  furnishing  them  with  the  means  of 
self-destruction.  If  I  live  and  reign,  these  means  of  un- 
christian excess  shall  be  abridged.  Yet  thou  may'st  be 
poor,"  she  added,  "  or  thy  parents  may  be — It  shall  be 
gold,  if  thou  wilt,  but  thou  shalt  answer  to  me  for  the 
use  on't." 

Walter  waited  patiently  until  the  queen  had  done,  and 
then  modestly  assured  her,  that  gold  was  still  less  in  his 
wish  than  the  raiment  her  majesty  had  before  offered. 

"  How,  boy  !"  said  the  queen,  "  neither  gold,  nor  gar- 
ment ?  What  is  it  thou  would'st  have  of  me,  then  ?" 

"  Only  permission,  madam — if  it  is  not  asking  too  high 
an  honour — permission  to  wear  the  cloak  which  did  you 
this  trifling  service." 

"  Permission  to  wear  thine  own  cloak,  thou  silly  boy  !" 
said  the  queen. 

"  It  is  no  longer  mine,"  said  Walter  ;  "  when  your 
majesty's  foot  touched  it,  it  became  a  fit  mantle  for  a 
prince,  but  far  too  rich  a  one  for  its  former  owner." 
17*     VOL.  I. 


198 


KENILWORTtf . 


The  queen  again  blushed  ;  and  endeavoured  to  cover, 
by  laughing,  a  slight  degree  of  not  unpleasing  surprise  and 
confusion. 

"  Heard  you  ever  the  like,  my  lords  ?  The  youth's 
head  is  turned  with  reading  romances — I  must  know  some- 
thing of  him,  that  I  may  send  him  safe  to  his  friends. — 
What  art  thou  ?" 

"  A  gentleman  of  the  household  of  the  Earl  of  Sussex, 
so  please  your  grace,  sent  hither  with  his  master  of  horse, 
upon  a  message  to  your  majesty." 

In  a  moment  the  gracious  expression  which  Elizabeth's 
face  had  hitherto  maintained,  gave  way  to  an  expression 
of  haughtiness  and  severity. 

"  My  Lord  of  Sussex,"  she  said,  "  has  taught  us  how 
to  regard  his  messages,  by  the  value  he  places  upon  ours. 
We  sent  but  this  morning  the  physician  in  ordinary  of  our 
chamber,  and  that  at  no  usual  time,  understanding  his 
jordship's  illness  to  be  more  dangerous  than  we  had  be- 
fore apprehended.  There  is  at  no  court  in  Europe  a 
man  more  skilled  in  his  holy  and  most  useful  science  than 
Doctor  Masters,  and  he  came  from  us  to  our  subject. 
Nevertheless,  he  found  the  gate  of  Say's  Court  defended 
by  men  with  culverins,  as  if  it  had  been  on  the  Borders 
of  Scotland,  not  in  the  vicinity  of  our  court  ;  and  when 
he  demanded  admittance  in  our  name,  it  was  stubbornly 
refused.  For  this  slight  of  a  kindness,  which  had  but  too 
much  of  condescension  in  it,  we  will  receive,  ai;  present 
at  least,  no  excuse  ;  and  some  such  we  suppose  to  have 
been  the  purport  of  my  Lord  of  Sussex's  message." 

This  was  uttered  in  a  tone,  and  with  a  gesture,  which 
made  Lord  Sussex's  friends  who  were  within  hearing, 
tremble.  He  to  whom  the  speech  was  addressed,  how- 
ever, trembled  not ;  but  with  great  deference  and  humil- 
ity, as  soon  as  the  queen's  passion  gave  him  an  opportu- 
nity, he  replied  : — "  So  please  your  most  gracious  majesty, 
I  was  charged  with  no  apology  from  the  Earl  of  Sussex." 

"  With  what  were  you  then  charged,  sir  ?"  said  the 
queen,  with  the  impetuosity,  which,  amid  nobler  qualities. 


KENILWORTH. 


199 


strongly  marked  her  character  ;  "  was  it  with  a  justifica- 
tion ? — or,  God's  death  !  with  a  defiance  ?" 

"  Madam,"  said  the  young  man,  "  my  Lord  of  Sussex 
knew  the  offence  approached  towards  treason,  and  could 
think  of  nothing  save  of  securing  the  offender,  and  plac- 
ing him  in  your  majesty's  hands,  and  at  your  mercy.  The 
noble  earl  was  fast  asleep  when  your  most  gracious  mes- 
sage reached  him,  a  potion  having  been  administered  to 
that  purpose  by  his  physician  ;  and  his  lordship  knew  not 
of  the  ungracious  repulse  your  majesty's  royal  and  most 
comfortable  message  had  received,  until  after  he  awoke 
this  morning." 

"  And  which  of  his  domestics  then,  in  the  name  of 
heaven,  presumed  to  reject  my  message,  without  even  ad- 
mitting my  own  physician  to  the  presence  of  him  whom  I 
sent  him  to  attend  ?"  said  the  queen,  much  surprised. 

"  The  offender,  madam,  is  before  you,"  replied  Wal- 
ter, bowing  very  low  ;  "  the  full  and  sole  blame  is  mine  ; 
and  my  lord  has  most  justly  sent  me  to  abye  the  conse- 
quences of  a  fault,  of  which  he  is  as  innocent  as  a  sleep- 
ing man's  dreams  can  be  of  a  waking  man's  actions." 

u  What,  was  it  thou  ? — thou  thyself,  that  repelled  my 
messenger  and  my  physician  from  Say's  Court  ?"  said 
the  queen.  "  What  could  occasion  such  boldness  in  one 
who  seems  devoted — that  is,  whose  exterior  bearing  shows 
devotion — to  his  sovereign  ?" 

"  Madam,"  said  the  youth, — who,  notwithstanding  an 
assumed  appearance  of  severity,  thought  that  he  saw  some- 
thing in  the  queen's  face  that  resembled  not  implacability, 
— "  we  say  in  our  country,  that  the  physician  is  for  the 
time  the  liege  sovereign  of  his  patient.  Now,  my  noble 
master  was  then  under  dominion  of  a  leech,  by  whose 
advice  he  hath  greatly  profited,  who  had  issued  his  com- 
mands that  his  patient  should  not  that  night  be  disturbed, 
on  the  very  peril  of  his  life." 

"  Thy  master  hath  trusted  some  false  varlet  of  an  em- 
piric," said  the  queen. 

"  I  know  not,  madam,  but  by  the  fact,  that  he  is  now 
■ — this  very  morning — awakened  much  refreshed  and 


200 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


strengthened,  from  the  only  sleep  he  hath  had  for  many 
hours." 

The  nobles  looked  at  each  other,  but  more  with  the 
purpose  to  see  what  each  thought  of  this  news,  than  to 
exchange  any  remarks  on  what  had  happened.  The 
queen  answered  hastily,  and  without  affecting  to  disguise 
her  satisfaction,  "  By  my  word,  I  am  glad  he  is  better. 
But  thou  wert  over  bold  to  deny  the  access  of  my  Doctor 
Masters.  Know'st  thou  not  the  Holy  Writ  saith,  '  in  the 
multitude  of  counsel  there  is  safety'  ?" 

"  Ay,  madam,"  said  Walter,  "  but  I  have  heard  learn- 
ed men  say,  that  the  safety  spoken  of  is  for  the  physicians, 
not  for  the  patient." 

"  By  my  faith,  child,  thou  hast  pushed  me  home,"  said 
the  queen,  laughing  ;  "  for  my  Hebrew  learning  does  not 
come  quite  at  a  call. — How  say  you,  my  Lord  of  Lincoln  ? 
Hath  the  lad  given  a  just  interpretation  of  the  text  ?" 

"  The  word  safety,  most  gracious  madam,"  said  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  "  for  so  hath  been  translated,  it  may 
be  somewhat  hastily,  the  Hebrew  word,  being"—  

"  My  lord,"  said  the  queen,  interrupting  him,  "  we 
said  we  had  forgotten  our  Hebrew.  But  for  thee,  young 
man,  what  is  thy  name  and  birth  ?" 

"  Raleigh  is  my  name,  most  gracious  queen,  the  young- 
est son  of  a  large  but  honourable  family  of  Devonshire." 

"  Raleigh  ?"  said  Elizabeth,  after  a  moment's  recol- 
lection, "  have  we  not  heard  of  your  service  in  Ireland  ?" 

"  I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  do  some  service  there, 
madam,"  replied  Raleigh,  "  scarce,  however,  of  conse- 
quence sufficient  to  reach  your  grace's  ears." 

"  They  hear  farther  than  you  think  of,"  said  the  queen 
graciously,  "  and  have  heard  of  a  youth  who  defended  a 
ford  in  Shannon  against  a  whole  band  of  wild  Irish  rebels, 
until  the  stream  ran  purple  with  their  blood  and  his  own." 

"  Some  blood  I  may  have  lost,"  said  the  youth,  look- 
ing down,  "  but  it  was  where  my  best  is  due  ;  and  that 
is  in  your  majesty's  service." 

The  queen  paused,  and  then  said  hastily,  "  You  are 
very  young,  to  have  fought  so  well,  and  to  speak  so  well. 


KENIL  WORTH. 


201 


But  you  must  not  escape  your  penance  for  turning  back 
Masters — the  poor  man  hath  caught  cold  on  the  river  ; 
for  our  order  reached  him  when  he  was  just  returned 
from  certain  visits  in  London,  and  he  held  it  matter  of 
loyalty  and  conscience  instantly  to  set  forth  again.  So 
hark  ye,  Master  Raleigh,  see  thou  fail  not  to  wear  thy 
muddy  cloak,  in  token  of  penitence,  till  our  pleasure  be 
farther  known.  And  here,"  she  added,  giving  him  a 
jewel  of  gold,  in  the  form  of  a  chess-man,  "  I  give  thee 
this  to  wear  at  the  collar." 

Raleigh,  to  whom  nature  had  taught  intuitively,  as  it 
were,  those  courtly  arts  which  many  scarce  acquire  from 
long  experience,  knelt,  and,  as  he  took  from  her  hand  the 
jewel,  kissed  the  fingers  which  gave  it.  He  knew,  per- 
haps, better  than  almost  any  of  the  courtiers  who  sur- 
rounded her,  how  to  mingle  the  devotion  claimed  by  the 
queen,  with  the  gallantry  due  to  her  personal  beauty — and 
in  this,  his  first  attempt  to  unite  them,  he  succeeded  so 
well,  as  at  once  to  gratify  Elizabeth's  personal  vanity,  and 
her  love  of  power. 

His  master,  the  Earl  of  Sussex,  had  the  full  advantage 
of  the  satisfaction  which  Raleigh  had  afforded  Elizabeth, 
on  their  first  interview. 

"  My  lords  and  ladies,"  said  the  queen,  looking  around 
to  the  retinue  by  whom  she  was  attended,  "  methink*;., 
since  we  are  upon  the  river,  it  were  well  to  renounce  our 
present  purpose  of  going  to  the  city,  and  surprise  this 
poor  Earl  of  Sussex  with  a  visit.  He  is  ill,  and  suffering 
doubtless  under  the  fear  of  our  displeasure,  from  which 
he  hath  been  honestly  cleared  by  the  frank  avowal  of  this 
malapert  boy.  What  think  ye  ?  were  it  not  an  act  of 
charity  to  give  him  such  consolation  as  the  thanks  of  a 
queen,  much  bound  to  him  for  his  loyal  service,  may  per- 
chance best  minister  ?" 

It  may  be  readily  supposed,  that  none  to  whom  this 
speech  was  addressed,  ventured  to  oppose  its  purport. 

"  Your  grace,"  said  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  "  is  the 
breath  of  our  nostrils."  The  men  of  war  averred,  that 
the  face  of  the  sovereign  was  a  whetstone  to  the  soldier's 


202 


KENIL  WORTH* 


sword  ;  while  the  men  of  state  were  not  less  of  opinion, 
that  the  light  of  the  queen's  countenance  was  a  lamp  to 
the  paths  of  her  counsellors  ;  and  the  ladies  agreed,  with 
one  voice,  that  no  noble  in  England  so  well  deserved  the 
regard  of  England's  royal  mistress  as  the  Earl  of  Sussex 
— the  Earl  of  Leicester's  right  being  reserved  entire  ;  so 
some  of  the  politic  worded  their  assent — an  exception  to 
which  Elizabeth  paid  no  apparent  attention.  The  barge 
had,  therefore,  orders  to  deposit  its  royal  freight  at  Dept- 
ford,  at  the  nearest  and  most  convenient  point  of  commu- 
nication with  Say's  Court,  in  order  that  the  queen  might 
satisfy  her  royal  and  maternal  solicitude,  by  making  per- 
sonal inquiries  after  the  health  of  the  Earl  of  Sussex. 

Raleigh,  whose  acute  spirit  foresaw  and  anticipated  im- 
portant consequences  from  the  most  trifling  events,  hast- 
ened to  ask  the  queen's  permission  to  go  in  the  skiff,  and 
announce  the  royal  visit  to  his  master  ;  ingeniously  sug- 
gesting, that  the  joyful  surprise  might  prove  prejudicial  to 
his  health,  since  the  richest  and  most  generous  cordials 
may  sometimes  be  fatal  to  those  who  have  been  long  in  a 
languishing  state. 

But  whether  the  queen  deemed  it  too  presumptuous  in 
so  young  a  courtier  to  interpose  his  opinion  unasked,  or 
whether  she  was  moved  by  a  recurrence  of  the  feeling  of 
jealousy,  which  had  been  instilled  into  her,  by  reports  that 
the  earl  kept  armed  men  about  his  person,  she  desired 
Raleigh,  sharply,  to  reserve  his  counsel  till  it  was  requir- 
ed of  him,  and  repeated  her  former  orders,  to  be  landed 
at  Deptford,  adding,  "  We  will  ourselves  see  what  sort  of 
household  my  Lord  of  Sussex  keeps  about  him." 

"  Now  the  Lord  have  pity  on  us  !"  said  the  young 
courtier  to  himself.  "  Good  hearts,  the  earl  hath  many 
a  one  round  him  ;  but  good  heads  are  scarce  with  us — 
and  he  himself  is  too  ill  to  give  direction.  And  Blount 
will  be  at  his  morning  meal  of  Yarmouth  herrings  and 
ale  ;  and  Tracy  will  have  his  beastly  black  puddings  and 
Rhenish  ; — those  thorough-paced  Welchmen,  Thomas  ap 
Rice  and  Evan  Evans,  will  be  at  work  on  their  leek  por- 
ridge and  toasted  cheese — and  she  detests,  they  say,  all 


KEtflLWORTH. 


203 


coarse  meats,  evil  smells,  and  strong  wines.  Could  they 
but  think  of  burning  some  rosemary  in  the  great  hall  ! 
but  vogue  la  galere,  all  must  now  be  trusted  to  chance. 
Luck  hath  done  indifferent  well  for  me  this  morning,  for 
I  trust  I  have  spoiled  a  cloak  and  made  a  court  fortune — 
May  she  do  as  much  for  my  gallant  patron  !" 

The  royal  barge  soon  stopped  at  Deptford,  and  amid 
the  loud  shouts  of  the  populace,  which  her  presence  never 
failed  to  excite,  the  queen,  with  a  canopy  borne  over  her 
head,  walked,  accompanied  by  her  retinue,  towards  Say's 
Court,  where  the  distant  acclamations  of  the  people  gave 
the  first  notice  of  her  arrival.  Sussex,  who  was  in  the 
act  of  advising  with  Tressilian  how  he  should  make  up 
the  supposed  breach  in  the  queen's  favour,  was  infinitely 
surprised  at  learning  her  immediate  approach — not  that 
the  queen's  custom  of  visiting  her  more  distinguished  no- 
bility, whether  in  health  or  sickness  could  be  unknown  to 
him  ;  but  the  suddenness  of  the  communication  left  no 
time  for  those  preparations  with  which  he  well  knew  Eliz- 
abeth loved  to  be  greeted,  and  the  rudeness  and  confu- 
sion of  his  military  household,  much  increased  by  his  late 
illness,  rendered  him  altogether  unprepared  for  her  re- 
ception. 

Cursing  internally  the  chance  which  thus  brought  her 
gracious  visitation  on  him  unaware,  he  hastened  down 
with  Tressilian,  to  whose  eventful  and  interesting  story  he 
had  just  given  an  attentive  ear. 

"  My  worthy  friend,"  he  said,  "  such  support  as  I  can 
give  your  accusation  of  Varney,  you  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect, alike  from  justice  and  gratitude.  Chance  will  pres- 
ently show  whether  I  can  do  aught  with  our  sovereign,  or 
whether,  in  very  deed,  my  meddling  in  your  affair  may 
not  rather  prejudice  than  serve  you." 

Thus  spoke  Sussex,  while  hastily  casting  around  him  a 
loose  robe  of  sables,  and  adjusting  his  person  in  the  best 
manner  he  could  to  meet  the  eye  of  his  sovereign.  But 
no  hurried  attention  bestowed  on  his  apparel  could  remove 
the  ghastly  effects  of  long  illness  on  a  countenance  which 
nature  had  marked  with  features  rather  strong  than  pleas- 


204 


KEN1LWORTH. 


ing.  Besides,  he  was  low  of  stature,  and  though  broad- 
shouldered,  athletic,  and  fit  for  martial  achievements,  his 
presence  in  a  peaceful  hall  was  not  such  as  ladies  love  to 
look  upon  ;  a  personal  disadvantage,  which  was  supposed 
to  give  Sussex,  though  esteemed  and  honoured  by  his 
sovereign,  considerable  disadvantage  when  compared  with 
Leicester,  who  was  alike  remarkable  for  elegance  of  man- 
ners, and  for  beauty  of  person. 

The  earl's  utmost  despatch  only  enabled  him  to  meet 
the  queen  as  she  entered  the  great  hall,  and  he  at  once 
perceived  there  was  a  cloud  on  her  brow.  Her  jealous 
eye  had  noticed  the  martial  array  of  armed  gentlemen 
and  retainers  with  which  the  mansion-house  was  filled, 
and  her  first  words  expressed  her  disapprobation — "  Is 
this  a  royal  garrison,  my  lord  of  Sussex  ?  or  have  we  by 
accident  overshot  Say's  Court,  and  landed  at  our  Tower 
of  London  ?" 

Lord  Sussex  hastened  to  offer  some  apology. 

"  It  needs  not,"  she  said.  "  My  lord,  we  intend  speed- 
ily to  take  up  a  certain  quarrel  between  your  lordship  and 
another  great  lord  of  our  household,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  reprehend  this  uncivilized  and  dangerous  practice  of 
surrounding  yourselves  with  armed,  and  even  with  ruffian- 
ly followers,  as  if,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  our  capital, 
nay  in  the  very  verge  of  our  royal  residence,  you  were 
preparing  to  wage  civil  war  with  each  other.  We  are 
glad  to  see  you  so  well  recovered,  my  lord,  though  with- 
out the  assistance  of  the  learned  physician  whom  we  sent 
to  you — Urge  no  excuse — we  know  how  that  matter  fell 
out,  and  we  have  corrected  for  it  the  wild  slip,  young 
Raleigh. — By  the  way,  my  lord,  we  will  speedily  relieve 
your  household  of  him,  and  take  him  into  our  own. 
Something  there  is  about  him  which  merits  to  be  better 
nurtured  than  he  is  like  to  be  amongst  your  very  military 
followers." 

To  this  proposal  Sussex,  though  scarce  understanding 
how  the  queen  came  to  make  it,  could  only  bow  and  ex- 
press his  obedience.  He  then  entreated  her  to  remain 
till  refreshment  could  be  offered,  but  in  this  he  could  not 


KENILWORTH. 


205 


prevail.  And,  after  a  few  compliments  of  a'much  colder 
and  more  common-place  character  than  might  have  been 
expected  from  a  step  so  decidedly  favourable  as  a  per- 
sonal visit,  the  queen  took  her  leave  of  Say's  Court, 
having  brought  confusion  thither  along  with  her,  and  leav- 
ing doubt  and  apprehension  behind. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Then  call  them  to  our  presence.    Face  to  face, 
And  frowning  brow  to  brow,  ourselves  will  hear 
The  accuser  and  accused  freely  speak  ; — 
High-stomach'd  are  they  both  and  full  of  ire, 
In  rage  deaf  as  the  sea,  hasty  as  fire. 

Richard  II. 

*, 

"  I  am  ordered  to  attend  court  to-morrow,"  said  Lei- 
cester speaking  to  Varney,  "  to  meet,  as  they  surmise, 
my  Lord  of  Sussex.  The  queen  intends  to  take  up  mat- 
ters betwixt  us.  This  comes  of  her  visit  to  Say's  Court, 
of  which  you  must  needs  speak  so  lightly." 

"  I  maintain  it  was  nothing,"  said  Varney  ;  "  nay,  1 
know  from  a  sure  intelligencer,  who  was  within  ear-shot 
of  much  that  was  said,  that  Sussex  has  lost  rather  than 
gained  by  that  visit.  The  queen  said,  when  she  stepped 
into  the  boat,  that  Say's  Court  looked  like  a  guard-house, 
and  smelt  like  an  hospital.  4  Like  a  cook's  shop  in  Ram's 
Alley  rather,'  said  the  Countess  of  Rutland,  who  is  ever 
your  lordship's  good  friend.  And  then  my  Lord  of  Lin- 
coln must  needs  put  in  his  holy  oar,  and  say,  that  my 
Lord  of  Sussex  must  be  excused  for  his  rude  and  old- 
world  housekeeping,  since  he  has  as  yet  no  wife." 

"  And  what  said  the  queen  ?"  said  Leicester,  hastily. 

"  She  took  him  up  roundly,"  said  Varney,  "  and  asked 
what  my  Lord  Sussex  had  to  do  with  a  wife,  or  my  Lord 

18     VOL.  1. 


206 


KENILWORTH. 


Bishop  to  spteak  on  such  a  subject.  If  marriage  is  per- 
mitted, she  said,  I  no  where  read  that  it  is  enjoined." 

"  She  likes  not  marriages,  or  speech  of  marriage, 
among  churchmen,"  said  Leicester. 

"  Nor  among  courtiers  neither,"  said  Varney  ;  but, 
observing  that  Leicester  changed  countenance,  he  instant- 
ly added,  "  that  all  the  ladies  who  were  present  had  join- 
ed in  ridiculing  Lord  Sussex's  housekeeping,  and  in 
contrasting  it  with  the  reception  her  grace  would  have 
assuredly  received  at  my  Lord  of  Leicester's." 

"  You  have  gathered  much  tidings,"  said  Leicester, 
"  but  you  have  forgotten  or  omitted  the  most  important 
of  all.  She  hath  added  another  to  those  dangling  satel- 
lites, whom  it  is  her  pleasure  to  keep  revolving  around 
her." 

"  Your  lordship  meaneth  that  Raleigh,  the  Devonshire 
youth,"  said  Varney,  "  the  knight  of  the  cloak,vas  they 
call  him  at  the  court  ?" 

"  He  may  be  Knight  of  the  Garter  one  day,  for  aught  I 
know,"  said  Leicester,  "  for  he  advances  rapidly — She 
hath  cap'd  verses  with  him,  and  such  fooleries.  I  would 
gladly  abandon,  of  Tfey  own  free  will,  the  part  I  have  in 
her  fickle  favour,  but  I  will  not  be  elbowed  out  of  it  by 
the  clown  Sussex,  or  this  new  upstart.  I  hear  Tressilian 
is  with  Sussex  also,  and  high  in  his  favour — I  would  spare 
him  for  considerations,  but  he  will  thrust  himself  on  his 
fate — Sussex,  too,  is  almost  as  well  as«ever  in  his  health." 

"  My  lord,"  replied  Varney,  "  there  will  be  rubs  in  the 
smoothest  road,  specially  when  it  leads  up  hill.  Sussex's 
illness  was  to  us  a  god-send,  from  which  I  hoped  much. 
He  has  recovered  indeed,  but  he  is  not  now  more  formi- 
dable than  ere  he  fell  ill,  when  he  received-  more  than 
one  foil  in  wrestling  with  your  lordship.  Let  not  your 
heart  fail  you,  my  lord,  and  all  shall  be  well." 

"  My  heart  never  failed  me,  sir,"  replied  Leicester. 

"  No,  my  lord,"  said  Varney  ;  "  but  it  has  betrayed 
you  right  often.  He  that  would  climb  a  tree,  my  lord, 
must  grasp  by  the  branches,  not  by  the  blossom." 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


207 


"  Well,  well,  well  !"  said  Leicester,  impatiently ;  "  I 
understand  thy  meaning — My  heart  shall  neither  fail  me 
nor  seduce  me.  Have  my  retinue  in  order — see  that 
their  array  be  so  splendid  as  to  put  down  not  only  the 
rude  companions  of  Ratcliffe,  but  the  retainers  of  every 
other  nobleman  and  courtier.  Let  them  be  well  armed 
withal,  but  without  any  outward  display  of  their  weapons, 
wearing  them  as  if  more  for  fashion's  sake  than  for  use. 
Do  thou  thyself  keep  close  to  me,  I  may  have  business 
for  you."  

The  preparations  of  Sussex  and  his  party  were  not  less 
anxious  than  those  of  Leicester. 

"  Thy  supplication,  impeaching  Varney  of  seduction," 
said  the  earl  to  Tressilian,  "is  by  this  time  in  the  queen's 
hand — I  have  sent  it  through  a  sure  channel.  Methinks 
your  suit  should  succeed,  being,  as  it  is,  founded  in  jus- 
tice and  honour,  and  Elizabeth  being  the  very  muster  of 
both.  But  I  wot  not  how — the  gipsy  (so  Sussex  was 
wont  to  call  his  rival  on  account  of  his  dark  complexion) 
hath  much  to  say  with  her  in  these  holiday  times  of  peace 
— Were  war  at  the  gates,  I  should  be  one  of  her  white 
boys  ;  but  soldiers,  like  their  buckl^  and  bilboa  blades, 
get  out  of  fashion  in  peace  time,  and  satin  sleeves  and 
walking  rapiers  bear  the  bell.  Well,  we  must  be  gay 
since  such  is  the  fashion. — Blount,  hast  thou  seen  our 
household  put  into  their  new  braveries  ? — But  thou  know'st 
as  little  of  these  toys  as  I  do — thou  wouldst  be  ready 
enow  at  disposing  a  stand  of  pikes." 

"  My  good  lord,"  answered  Blount,  "  Raleigh  hath 
been  here  and  taken  that  charge  upon  him — Your  train 
will  glitter  like  a  May  morning.— Marry,  the  cost  is  anoth- 
er question.  One  might  keep  an  hospital  of  old  soldiers 
at  the  charge  of  ten  modern  lacqueys." 

"  We  must  not  count  cost  to-day,  Nicholas,"  said  the 
earl,  in  reply  ;  "  I  am  beholden  to  Raleigh  for  his  care — 
I  trust,  though,  he  has  remembered  that  I  am  an  old  sol- 
dier, and  would  have  no  more  of  these  follies  than  needs 
must." 


208 


KENIL  WORTH. 


"  Nay,  I  understand  nought  about  it  j  but  here  are 
your  honourable  lordship's  brave  kinsmen  and  friends 
coming  in  by  scores  to  wait  upon  you  to  court,  where, 
methinks,  we  shall  bear  as  brave  a  front  as  Leicester,  let 
him  ruffle  it  as  he  will." 

"  Give  them  the  strictest  charges,"  said  Sussex, 
"  that  they  suffer  no  provocation  short  of  actual  violence 
to  provoke  them  into  quarrel — they  have  hot  bloods,  and 
I  would  not  give  Leicester  the  advantage  over  ine  by  any 
imprudence  of  theirs." 

The  Earl  of  Sussex  ran  so  hastily  through  these  di- 
rections, that  it  was  with  difficulty  Tressilian  at  length 
found  opportunity  to  express  his  surprise  that  he  should 
have  proceeded  so  far  in  the  affair  of  Sir  Hugh  Robsart 
as  to  lay  his  petition  at  once  before  the  queen — "  It  was 
the  opinion  of  the  young  lady's  friends,"  he  said,  "  that 
Leicester's  sense  of  justice  should  be  first  appealed  to,  as 
the  offence  had  been  committed  by  his  officer,  and  so  he 
had  expressly  told  to  Sussex." 

"  This  could  have  been  done  without  applying  to  me," 
said  Sussex,  somewhat  haughtily.  "  i,  at  least,  ought 
not  to  have  been  a  counsellor  when  the  object  was  a  hu- 
miliating reference  to  Leicester  ;  and  I  am  surprised  that 
you,  Tressilian,  a  man  of  honour,  and  my  friend,  would 
assume  such  a  mean  course.  If  you  said  so,  I  certainly 
understood  you  not  in  a  matter  which  sounded  so  unlike 
yourself." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Tressilian,  "  the  course  I  would 
prefer,  for  my  own  sake,  is  that  you  have  adopted  ;  but 
the  friends  of  this  most  unhappy  lady"  

"  O,  the  friends — the  friends,"  said  Sussex,  interrupt- 
ing him  ;  "  they  must  let  us  manage  this  cause  in  the 
way  which  seems  best.  This  is  the  time  and  the  hour  to 
accumulate  every  charge  against  Leicester  and  his  house- 
hold, and  your's  the  queen  will  hold  a  heavy  one.  But 
at  all  events  she  hath  the  complaint  before  her." 

Tressilian  could  not  help  suspecting  that,  in  his  eager- 
ness to  strengthen  himself  against  his  rival,  Sussex  had 
purposely  adopted  the  course  most  likely  to  throw  odium 


KEN  IX  WORTH. 


209 


on  Leicester,  without  considering  minutely  whether  it 
were  the  mode  of  proceeding  most  like  to  be  attended 
with  success.  But  the  step  was  irrevocable,  and  Sussex 
escaped  from  farther  discussing  it  by  dismissing  his  com- 
pany, with  the  command,  "  Let  all  be  in  order  at  eleven 
o'clock ;  I  must  be  at  court  and  in  the  presence  by  high 
noon  precisely." 

While  the  rival  statesmen  were  thus  anxiously  prepar- 
ing for  their  approaching  meeting  in  the  queen's  presence, 
even  Elizabeth  herself  was  not  without  apprehension  of 
what  might  chance  from  the  collision  of  two  such  fiery 
spirits,  each  backed  by  a  strong  and  numerous  body  of 
followers,  and  dividing  betwixt  them,  either  openly  or  in 
secret,  the  hopes  and  wishes  of  most  of  her  court.  The 
band  of  gentlemen  pensioners  were  all  under  arms,  and  a 
reinforcement  of  the  yeomen  of  tKfe  guard  was  brought 
clown  the  Thames  from  London.  A  royal  proclamation 
was  sent  forth,  strictly  prohibiting  nobles,  of  whatsoever 
degree,  to  approach  the  palace  with  retainers  or  followers, 
armed  with  shot,  or  with  long  weapons  ;  and  it  was  even 
whispered,  that  the  high  sheriff  of  Kent  had  secret  in- 
structions to  have  a  part  of  the  array  of  the  county  ready 
on  the  shortest  notice. 

The  eventful  hour,  thus  anxiously  prepared  for  on  all 
sides,  at  length  approached,  and,  each  followed  by  his 
long  and  glittering  train  of  friends  and  followers,  the  rival 
earls  entered  the  palace-yard  of  Greenwich  at  noon  pre- 
cisely. 

As  if  by  previous  arrangement,  or  perhaps  by  intima- 
tion that  such  was  the  queen's  pleasure,  Sussex  and  his 
retinue  came  to  the  palace  from  Deptford  by  water,  while 
Leicester  arrived  by  land  ;  and  thus  they  entered  the 
court-yard  from  opposite  sides.  This  trifling  circum- 
stance gave  Leicester  a  certain  ascendancy  in  the  opinion 
of  the  vulgar,  the  appearance  of  his  cavalcade  of  mounted 
followers  showing  more  numerous  and  more  imposing 
than  those  of  Sussex's  party,  who  were  necessarily  upon 
foot.     No  show  or  sign  of  greeting  passed  between  the 

18*     VOL.  I. 


210 


KENILWORTH. 


earls,  though  each  looked  full  at  the  other,  both  expect- 
ing perhaps  an  exchange  of  courtesies,  which  neither  was 
willing  to  commence.  Almost  in  the  minute  of  their 
arrival,  the  castle-bell  tolled,  the  gates  of  the  palace  were 
opened,  and  the  earls  entered,  each  numerously  attended 
by  such  gentlemen  of  their  train,  whose  rank  gave  them 
that  privilege.  The  yeomen  and  inferior  attendants  re- 
mained in  the  court-yard,  where  the  opposite  parties 
eyed  each  other  with  looks  of  eager  hatred  and  scorn, 
as  if  waiting  with  impatience  for  some  cause  of  tumult, 
or  some  apology  for  mutual  aggression.  But  they  were 
restrained  by  the  strict  commands  of  their  leaders,  and 
overawed  perhaps  by  the  presence  of  an  armed  guard 
of  unusual  strength. 

In  the  meanwhile;,  the  more  distinguished  persons  of 
each  train  followed  %eir  patrons  into  the  lofty  halls  and 
ante-chambers  of  the  royal  palace,  flowing  on  in  the  same 
current,  like  two  streams  which  are  compelled  into  the 
same  channel,  yet  shun  to  mix  their  waters.  The  parties 
arranged  themselves  as  it  were  instinctively,  on  the  dif- 
ferent sides  of  the  lofty  apartments,  and  seemed  eager  to 
escape  from  the  transient  union  which  the  narrowness  of 
the  crowded  entrance  had  for  an  instant  compelled  them 
to  submit  to.  The  folding-doors  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
long  gallery  were  immediately  afterwards  opened,  and  it 
was  announced  in  a  whisper  that  the  queen  was  in  her 
presence-chamber,  to  which  these  gave  access.  Both 
earls  moved  slow  and  stately  towards  the  entrance  ;  Sus- 
sex followed  by  Tressilian,  Blount,  and  Raleigh,  and 
Leicester  by  Varney.  The  pride  of  Leicester  was 
obliged  to  give  way  to  court-forms,  and  with  a  grave  and 
formal  inclination  of  the  head,  he  paused  until  his  rival, 
a  .peer  of  older  creation  than  his  own,  passed  before  him. 
Sussex  returned  the  reverence  with  the  same  formal 
civility,  and  entered  the  presence-room.  Tressilian  and 
Blount  offered  to  follow  him,  but  were  not  permitted,  the 
Usher  of  the  Black  Rod  alleging  in  excuse,  that  he  had 
precise  orders  to  look  to  all  admissions  that  day.  To 
Raleigh,  who  stood  back  on  the  repulse  of  his  companions, 


KEffIL  WORTH. 


211 


he  said,  "  You,  sir.  may  enter,"  and  he  entered  accord- 
ingly. 

"  Follow  me  close,  Varney,"  said  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter, who  had  stood  aloof  for  a  moment  to  mark  the  re- 
ception of  Sussex  ;  and,  advancing  to  the  entrance,  he 
was  about  to  pass  on,  when  Varney,  who  was  close  behind 
him,  dressed  out  in  the  utmost  bravery  of  the  day,  was 
stopped  by  the  usher,  as  Tressilian  and  Blount  had  been 
before  him.  "  How's  this,  Master  Bowyer  ?"  said  the 
Earl  of  Leicester ;  "  Know  you  who  I  am,  and  that  this 
is  my  friend  and  follower  ?" 

"  Your  lordship  will  pardon  me,"  replied  Bowyer 
stoutly,  "  my  orders  are  precise,  and  limit  me  to  a  strict 
discharge  of  my  duty." 

"  Thou  art  a  partial  knave,"  said  Leicester,  the  blood 
mounting  to  his  face,  "  to  do  me  this  dishonour,  when 
you  but  now  admitted  a  follower  of  my  Lord  of  Sussex." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Bowyer,  "  Master  Raleigh  is  newly 
admitted  a  sworn  servant  of  her  grace,  and  to  him  my 
orders  did  not  apply." 

"  Thou  art  a  knave — an  ungrateful  knave,"  said 
Leicester  ;  "  but  he  that  hath  done,  can  undo — thou  shalt 
not  prank  thee  in  thy  authority  long  !" 

His  threat  he  uttered  aloud,  with  less  than  his  usual 
policy  and  discretion,  and  having  done  so,  he  entered  the 
presence-chamber,  and  made  his  reverence  to  the  queen, 
who,  attired  with  even  more  than  her  usual  splendour,  and 
surrounded  by  those  nobles  and  statesmen  whose  courage 
and  wisdom  have  rendered  her  reign  immortal,  stood 
ready  to  receive  the  h  nage  of  her  subjects.  She  gra- 
ciously returned  the  obeisance  of  the  favourite  earl,  and 
looked  alternately  at  him  and  at  Sussex,  as  if  about  to 
speak,  when  Bowyer,  a  man  whose  spirit  could  not  brook 
the  insult  he  had  so  openly  received  from  Leicester,  in 
the  discharge  of  his  office,  advanced  with  his  black  rod 
in  his  hand,  and  knelt  down  before  her. 

"  Why,  how  now,  Bowyer,"  said  Elizabeth,  "  thy 
courtesy  seems  strangely  timed  !" 


212 


KENILWORTH. 


u  My  liege  sovereign,"  he  said,  while  every  courtier 
around  trembled  at  his  audacity,  "  I  come  but  to  ask, 
whether,  in  the  discharge  of  mine  office,  I  am  to  obey 
your  highness's  commands,  or  those  of  the  Earl  of 
Leicester,  who  has  publicly  menaced  me  with  his  dis- 
pleasure, and  treated  me  with  disparaging  terms,  because 
I  denied  entry  to  one  of  his  followers,  in  obedience  to 
your  grace's  precise  orders." 

The  spirit  of  Henry  VIII.  was  instantly  aroused  in  the 
bosom  of  his  daughter,  and  she  turned  on  Leicester  with 
a  severity  which  appalled  him,  as  well  as  all  his  followers. 

"  God's  death,  my  lord,"  such  was  her  emphatic 
phrase,  "  what  means  this  ?  We  have  thought  well  of 
you,  and  brought  you  near  to  our  person  ;  but  it  was  not 
that  you  might  hide  the  sun  from  our  other  faithful  sub- 
jects. Who  gave  you  license  to  contradict  our  orders, 
or  control  our  officers  ?  I  will  have  in  this  court,  ay,  and 
in  this  realm,  but  one  mistress,  and  no  master.  Look  to 
it  that  Master  Bowyer  sustains  no  harm  for  his  duty  to 
me  faithfully  discharged ;  for,  as  I  am  Christian  woman 
and  crowned  queen,  I  will  hold  you  dearly  answerable. 
Go,  Bowyer,  you  have  done  the  part  of  an  honest  man 
and  a  true  subject.  We  will  brook  no  mayor  of  the 
palace  here." 

-  Bowyer  kissed  the  hand  which  she  extended  towards 
him,  and  withdrew  to  his  post,  astonished  at  the  success 
of  his  own  audacity.  A  smile  of  triumph  pervaded  the 
faction  of  Sussex ;  that  of  Leicester  seemed  proportion- 
ally dismayed,  and  the  favourite  himself,  assuming  an 
aspect  of  the  deepest  humility,  did  not  even  attempt  a 
word  in  his  own  exculpation. 

He  acted  wisely  ;  for  ij  was  the  policy  of  Elizabeth  to 
humble,  not  to  disgrace  him,  and  it  was  prudent  to  suffer 
her,  without  opposition  or  reply,  to  glory  in  the  exertion 
of  her  authority.  The  dignity  of  the  queen  was  gratified, 
and  the  woman  began  soon  to  feel  for  the  mortification 
which  she  had  imposed  on  her  favourite.  Her  keen  eye 
also  observed  the  secret  looks  of  congratulation  exchanged 


KENILWORTH.  213 


amongst  those  who  favoured  Sussex,  and  it  was  no  part 
of  her  policy  to  give  either  party  a  decisive  triumph. 

"  What  I  say  to  my  Lord  of  Leicester,"  she  said,  after 
a  moment's  pause,  "  I  say  also  to  you,  my  Lord  of  Sus- 
sex. You  also  must  needs  ruffle  in  the  court  of  Eng- 
land, at  the  head  of  a  faction  of  your  own  ?" 

"  My  followers,  gracious  princess,"  said  Sussex, 
"  have  indeed  ruffled  in  your  cause,  in  Ireland,  in  Scot- 
land, and  against  yonder  rebellious  earls  in  the  north.  I 
am  ignorant  that"  

"  Do  you  bandy  looks  and  words  with  me,  my  lord  ?" 
said  the  queen,  interrupting  him  ;  "  methinks  you  might 
learn  of  my  Lord  of  Leicester  the  modesty  to  be  silent, 
at  least,  under  our  censure.  I  say,  my  lord,  that  my 
grandfather  and  my  father,  in  their  wisdom,  debarred  the 
nobles  of  this  civilized  land  from  travelling  with  such  dis- 
orderly retinues  ;  and  think  you,  that  because  I  wear  a 
coif,  their  sceptre  has  in  my  hand  been  changed  into  a 
distaff  ?  I  tell  you,  no  king  in  Christendom  will  less  brook 
his  court  to  be  cumbered,  his  people  oppressed,  and  his 
kingdom's  peace  disturbed  by  the  arrogance  of  over- 
grown power,  than  she  who  now  speaks  with  you. — My 
Lord  of  Leicester,  and  you,  my  Lord  of  Sussex,  I  com- 
mand you  both  to  be  friends  with  each  other  ;  or  by  the 
crown  I  wear,  you  shall  find  an  enemy  who  will  be  too 
strong  for  both  of  you." 

"  Madam,"  said  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  "  you  who  are 
yourself  the  fountain  of  honour,  know  best  what  is  due 
to  mine.  I  place  it  at  your  disposal,  and  only  say,  that 
the  terms  on  which  I  have  stood  with  my  Lord  of  Sussex 
have  not  been  of  my  seeking  ;  nor  had  he  cause  to  think 
me  his  enemy,  until  he  had  done  me  gross  wrong." 

"  For  me,  madam,"  said  the  Earl  of  Sussex,  "  I 
cannot  appeal  from  your  sovereign  pleasure  ;  but  I  were 
well  content,  my  Lord  of  Leicester  should  say  in  what  I 
have,  as  he  terms  it,  wronged  him,  since  my  tongue  never 
spoke  the  word  that  I  would  not  willingly  justify  either  on 
foot  or  horseback." 


214 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


"  And  for  me,"  said  Leicester,  always  under  my 
gracious  sovereign's  pleasure,  my  hand  shall  be  as  ready 
to  make  good  rny  words,  as  that  of  any  man  who  ever 
wrote  himself  Ratcliffe." 

"  My  lords,"  said  the  queen,  "  these  are  no  terms  for 
this  presence ;  and  if  you  cannot  keep  your  temper,  we 
will  find  means  to  keep  both  that  and  you  close  enough. 
Let  me  see  you  join  hands,  my  lords,  and  forget  your  idle 
animosities." 

The  two  rivals  looked  at  each  other  with  reluctant 
eyes,  each  unwilling  to  make  the  first  advance  to  execute 
the  queen's  will. 

"  Sussex,"  said  Elizabeth,  "  I  entreat — Leicester,  I 
command  you." 

Yet,  so  were  her  words  accented,  that  the  entreaty 
sounded  like  command,  and  the  command  likp  entreaty. 
They  remained  still  and  stubborn,  until  she  raised  her 
voice  to  a  height  which  argued  at  once  impatience  and 
absolute  command. 

"  Sir  Henry  Lee,"  she  said,  to  an  officer  in  attend- 
ance, "  have  a  guard  in  present  readiness,  and  man  a 
barge  instantly. — My  Lords  of  Sussex  and  Leicester,  I 
bid  you  once  more  to  join  hands — and  God's  death  !  he 
that  refuses  shall  taste  of  our  Tower  fare  ere  he  see  our 
face  again.  I  will  lower  your  proud  hearts  ere  we  part, 
and  that  I  promise,  on  the  word  of  a  queen." 

"  The  prison,"  said  Leicester,  "  might  be  borne,  but 
to  lose  your  grace's  presence,  were  to  lose  light  and  life 
at  once. — Here,  Sussex  is  my  hand." 

"  And  here,"  said  Sussex,  "  is  mine  in  truth  and 
honesty  ;  but"  

"  Nay,  under  favour,  you  shall  add  no  more,"  said 
the  queen.  "  Why,  this  is  as  it  should  be,"  she  added, 
looking  on  them  more  favourably,  "  and  when  you,  the 
shepherds  of  the  people,  unite  to  protect  them,  it  shall  be 
well  with  the  flock  we  rule  over.  For,  my  lords,  I  tell 
you  plainly,  your  follies  and  your  brawls  lead  to  strange 
disorders  among  your  servants. — My  Lord  of  Leicester, 
you  have  a  gentleman  in  your  household  called  Varney  ?" 


KEN  II  WORTH. 


215 


"  Yes,  gracious  madam,"  replied  Leicester,  "  I  pre- 
sented him  to  kiss  your  royal  hand,  when  you  were  last 
at  Nonsuch." 

"  His  outside  was  well  enough,"  said  the  queen,  "  but 
scarce  so  fair,  I  should  have  thought,  as  to  have  caused 
a  maiden  of  honourable  birth  and  hopes  to  barter  her 
fame  for  his  good  looks,  and  become  his  paramour.  Yet 
so  it  is — this  fellow  of  yours  hath  seduced  the  daughter 
of  a  good  old  Devonshire  knight,  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  of 
Lideote-hall,  and  she  hath  fled  with  him  from  her  father's 
house,  like  a  cast-away.  My  Lord  of  Leicester,  are  you 
ill,  that  you  look  so  deadly  pale  !" 

"  No,  gracious  madam,"  said  Leicester  ;  and  it  re- 
quired every  effort  he  could  make  to  bring  forth  these 
few  words. 

"  You  are  surely  ill,  my  lord  ?"  said  Elizabeth,  going 
towards  him  with  hasty  speech,  and  hurried  step,  which 
indicated  the  deepest  concern.  "  Call  Masters — call 
our  surgeon  in  ordinary — Where  be  these  loitering  fools  ? 
— We  lose  the  pride  of  our  court  through  their  negli- 
gence.— Or  is  it  possible,  Leicester,"  she  continued, 
looking  on  him  with  a  very  gentle  aspect,  "  can  fear  of 
my  displeasure  have  wrought  so  deeply  on  thee  ?  Doubt 
not  for  a  moment,  noble  Dudley,  that  wTe  could  blame 
thee  for  the  folly  of  thy  retainer — thee,  whose  thoughts 
we  know  to  be  far  otherwise  employed  ?  He  that  would 
climb  the  eagle's  nest,  my  lord,  cares  not  who  are  catch- 
ing linnets  at  the  foot  of  the  precipice." 

"  Mark  you  that  ?"  said  Sussex,  aside  to  Raleigh. 
"  The  devil  aids  him  surely  !  for  all  that  would  sink 
another  ten  fathom  deep,  seems  but  to  make  him  float  the 
more  easily.    Had  a  follower  of  mine  acted  thus"  

"  Peace,  my  good  lord,"  said  Raleigh,  "  for  God's 
sake,  peace.  Wait  the  change  of  the  tide  ;  it  is  even 
now  on  the  turn." 

The  acute  observation  of  Raleigh,  perhaps,  did  not 
deceive  him  ;  for  Leicester's  confusion  was  so  great,  and, 
indeed,  for  the  moment,  so  irresistibly  overwhelming,  that 
Elizabeth,  after  looking  at  him  with  a  wondering  eye,  and 


216 


KENILWORTH. 


receiving  no  intelligible  answer  to  the  unusual  expressions 
of  grace  and  affection  which  had  escaped  from  her,  shot 
her  quick  glance  around  the  circle  of  courtiers,  and 
reading,  perhaps,  in  their  faces,  something  that  accorded 
with  her  own  awakened  suspicions,  she  said  suddenly, 
"  Or'is  there  more  in  this  than  we  see — or  than  you,  my 
lord,  wish  that  we  should  see  ?  Where  is  this  Varney  ? 
Who  saw  him  ?" 

"  An  it  please  your  grace,"  said  Bowyer,  "  it  is  the 
same  against  whom  I  this  instant  closed  the  door  of  the 
presence-room." 

"  An  it  please  me  ?"  repeated  Elizabeth  sharply,  not 
at  that  moment  in  a  humour  of  being  pleased  with  any 
thing,  "  It  does  not  please  me  that  he  should  pass  saucily 
into  my  presence,  or  that  you  should  exclude  from  it  one 
who  came  to  justify  himself  from  an  accusation." 

"  May  it  please  you,"  answered  the  perplexed  usher, 
"  if  I  knew,  in  such  case,  how  to  bear  myself,  I  would 
take  heed"=  

"  You  should  have  reported  the  fellow's  desire  to  us, 
Master  Usher,  and  taken  our  directions.  You  think 
yourself  a  great  mail,  because  but  now  we  chid  a  noble- 
man on  your  account — but,  after  all,  we  hold  you  but  as 
the  lead-weight  that  keeps  the  door  fast.  Call  this  Varney 
hither  instantly — there  is  one  Tressilian  also  mentioned 
in  this  petition — let  them  both  come  before  us." 

She  was  obeyed,  and  Tressilian  and  Varney  appeared 
accordingly.  Varney's  first  glance  was  at  Leicester,  his 
second  at  the  queen.  In  the  looks  of  the  latter  there 
appeared  an  approaching  storm,  and  in  the  downcast 
countenance  of  his  patron,  he  could  read  no  directions  in 
what  way  he  was  to  trim  his  vessel  for  the  encounter — lie 
then  saw  Tressilian,  and  at  once  perceived  the  peril  of 
the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed.  But  Varney  was 
as  bold-faced  and  ready-witted  as  he  was  cunning  and 
unscrupulous, — a  skilful  pilot  in  extremity,  and  fully  con- 
scious of  the  advantages  which  he  would  obtain,  could 
he  extricate  Leicester  from  his  present  peril,  and  of  the 
ruin  that  yawned  for  himself  should  he  fail  in  doing  so. 


KEN  IL  WORT  H . 


217 


"  Is  it  true,  sirrah,"  said  the  queen  with  one  of  those 
searching  looks  which  few  had  the  audacity  to  resist, 
"  that  you  have  seduced  to  infamy  a  young  lady  of  birth 
and  breeding,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Hugh  Robsart  of 
Lidcote-hall  ?" 

Varney  kneeled  down,  and  replied  with  a  look  of  the 
most  profound  contrition,  "  there  had  been  some  love 
passages  betwixt  him  and  Mistress  Amy  Robsart." 

Leicester's  flesh  quivered  with  indignation,  as  he  heard 
his  dependant  make  this  avowal,  and,  for  one  moment  he 
manned  himself  to  step  forward,  and,  bidding  farewell  to 
the  court  and  the  royal  favour,  confess  the  whole  mystery 
of  the  secret  marriage.  But  he  looked  at  Sussex,  and 
the  idea  of  the  triumphant  smile  which  would  clothe  his 
cheek  upon  hearing  the  avowal,  sealed  his  lips.  "  Not 
now,  at  least,"  he  thought,  "  or  in  this  presence,  will  I 
afford  him  so  rich  a  triumph."  And  pressing  his  lips  close 
together,  he  stood  firm  and  collected,  attentive  to  each 
word  which  Varney  uttered,  and  determined  to  hide  to 
the  last  the  secret  on  which  his  court  favour  seemed  to 
depend.  Meanwhile,  the  queen  proceeded  in  her  exam- 
ination of  Varney. 

"  Love  passages  !"  said  she,  echoing  his  last  words  ; 
"  what  passages,  thou  knave  ?  and  why  not  ask  the 
wench's  hand  from  her  father,  if  thou  hadst  any  honesty 
in  thy  love  for  her  ?" 

"  An  it  please  your  grace,"  said  Varney,  still  on  his 
knees,  "  I  dared  not  do  so,  for  her  father  had  promised 
her  hand  to  a  gentleman  of  birth  and  honour — I  will  do 
him  justice,  though  I  know  he  bears  me  ill  will — one 
Master  Edmund  Tressilian,  whom  I  now  see  in  the 
presence." 

"  Soh  !"  replied  the  queen  ;  "  and  what  was  your 
right  to  make  the  simple  fool  break  her  worthy  father's 
contract,  through  your  love  passages,  as  your  conceit  and 
assurance  terms  them  ?" 

"  Madam,"  replied  Varney,  "  it  is  in  vain  to  plead  the 
cause  of  human  frailty  before  a  judge  to  whom  it  is  un- 

19     VOL.  I. 


218 


KENILWORTH. 


known,  or  that  of  love,  to  one  who  never  yields  to  the 
passion" — He  paused  an  instant,  and  then  added,  in  a 
very  low  and  timid  tone,  "  which  she  inflicts  upon  others." 

Elizabeth  tried  to  frown,  but  smiled  in  her  own  despite, 
as  she  answered,  "  Thou  art  a  marvellously  impudent 
knave — Art  thou  married  to  the  girl?" 

Leicester's  feelings  became  so  complicated  and  so 
painfully  intense,  that  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  life  was  to 
depend  on  the  answer  made  by  Varney,  who,  after  a 
moment's  real  hesitation,  answered,  "  Yes." 

"  Thou  false  villain  !"  said  Leicester,  bursting  forth 
into  rage,  yet  unable  to  add  another  word  to  the  sentence, 
which  he  had  begun  with  such  emphatic  passion. 

"  Nay,  my  lord,"  said  the  queen,  "  we  will,  by  your 
leave,  stand  between  this  fellow  and  your  anger.  We 
have  riot  yet  done  with  him. — Knew  your  master,  my 
Lord  of  Leicester,  of  this  fair  work  of  yours  ?  Speak 
truth,  I  command  thee,  and  I  will  be  thy  warrant  from 
danger  on  every  quarter." 

"  Gracious  madam,"  said  Varney,  "  to  speak  heaven's 
truth,  rny  lord  was  the  cause  of  the  whole  matter." 

"  Thou  villain,  would'st  thou  betray  me  ?"  said  Leices- 
ter. 

"  Speak  on,"  said  the  queen  hastily,  her  cheek  colour- 
ing, and  her  eyes  sparkling,  as  she  addressed  Varney  ; 
"  speak  on — here  no  commands  are  heard  but  mine." 

"  They  are  omnipotent,  gracious  madam,"  replied 
Varney  ;  "  and  to  you  there  can  be  no  secrets. — Yet  I 
would  not,"  he  added,  looking  around  him,  "  speak  of 
my  master's  concerns  to  other  ears." 

"  Fall  back,  my  lords,"  said  the  queen  to  those  who 
surrounded  her,  "  and  do  you  speak  on. — What  hath  the 
earl  to  do  with  this  guilty  intrigue  of  thine  ?— See,  fellow, 
that  thou  behest  him  not." 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  traduce  my  noble  patron,"  re- 
plied Varney  ;  "  yet  I  am  compelled  to  own  that  some 
deep,  overwhelming,  yet  secret  feeling,  hath  of  late  dwelt 
in  my  lord's  mind,  hath  abstracted  him  from  the  cares  of 
the  household,  which  he  was  wont  to  govern  with  such 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


219 


religious  strictness,  and  hath  left  us  opportunities  to  do  fol- 
lies, of  which  the  shame,  as  in  this  case,  partly  falls  upon 
our  patron.  Without  this,  I  had  not  had  means  or  leisure 
to  commit  the  folly  which  has  drawn  on  me  his  displeas- 
ure ;  the  heaviest  to  endure  by  me,  which  I  could  by 
any  means  incur, — saving  always  the  yet  more  dreaded 
resentment  of  your  grace." 

"  And  in  this  sense,  and  no  other,  hath  he  been  acces- 
sary to  thy  fault  ?"  said  Elizabeth. 

"  Surely,  madam,  in  no  other,"  replied  Varney  ;  "  but 
since  somewhat  hath  chanced  to  him,  he  can  scarce  be 
called  his  own  man.  Look  at  him,  madam,  how  pale 
and  trembling  he  stands — how  unlike  his  usual  majesty  of 
manner — yet  what  has  he  to  fear  from  aught  I  can  say  to 
your  highness  ?  Ah  !  madam,  since  he  received  that  fatal 
packet  !" 

"  What  packet,  and  from  whence  ?"  said  the  queen, 
eagerly. 

"  From  whence,  madam,  I  cannot  guess  ;  but  I  am  so 
near  to  his  person,  that  I  know  he  has  ever  since  worn, 
suspended  around  his  neck,  and  next  to  his  heart,  that 
lock  of  hair  which  sustains  a  small  golden  jewel,  shaped 
like  a  heart — he  speaks  to  it  when  alone — he  parts  not 
from  it  when  he  sleeps — no  heathen  ever  worshipped  an 
idol  with  such  devotion." 

"  Thou  art  a  prying  knave,  to  watch  thy  master  so 
closely,"  said  Elizabeth,  blushing,  but  not  with  anger  ; 
"  and  a  tattling  knave  to  tell  over  again  his  fooleries. — 
What  colour  might  the  braid  of  hair  be  that  thou  pratest 
of  ?" 

Varney  replied,  "  A  poet,  madam,  might  call  it  a 
thread  from  the  golden  web  wrought  by  Minerva  ;  but,  to 
my  thinking,  it  was  paler  than  even  the  purest  gold- 
more  like  the  last  parting  sunbeam  of  the  softest  day  of 
spring." 

"  Why,  you  are  a  poet  yourself,  Master  Varney,"  said 
the  queen,  smiling  ;  "  but  I  have  not  genius  quick  enough 
to  follow  your  rare  metaphors — Look  round  these  ladies 
—is  there — (she  hesitated,  and  endeavoured  to  assume  an 


220 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


air  of  great  indifference)— Is  there  here,  in  this  presence, 
any  lady,  the  colour  of  whose  hair  reminds  thee  of  that 
braid  ?  Methinks,  without  prying  into  my  Lord  of 
Leicester's  amorous  secrets,  I  would  fain  know  what  kind 
of  locks  are  like  the  thread  of  Minerva's  web,  or  the — 
what  was  it  ? — the  last  rays  of  the  May-day  sun." 

Varney  looked  round  the  presence-chamber,  his  eye 
travelling  from  one  lady  to  another,  until  at  length  it  rested 
upon  the  queen  herself,  but  with  an  aspect  of  the  deepest 
veneration.  "  I  see  no  tresses,"  he  said,  "  in  this  pres- 
ence worthy  of  such  similes,  unless  where  I  dare  not  look 
on  them." 

"  How,  sir  knave,"  said  the  queen,  "  dare  you  inti- 
mate"  

"  Nay,  madam,"  replied  Varney,  shading  his  eyes 
with  his  hand,  "  it  was  the  beams  of  the  May-day  sun 
that  dazzled  my  weak  eyes." 

"  Go  to— go  to,"  said  the  queen  ;  "  thou  art  a  foolish 
fellow" — and  turning  quickly  from  him  she  walked  up  to 
Leicester. 

Intense  curiosity,  mingled  with  all  the  various  hopes, 
fears,  and  passions,  which  influence  court  faction,  had 
occupied  the  presence-chamber  during  the  queen's  con- 
ference with  Varney,  as  if  with  the  strength  of  an  eastern 
talisman.  Men  suspended  every,  even  the  slightest  ex- 
ternal motion,  and  would  have  ceased  to  breathe,  had 
Nature  permitted  such  an  intermission  of  her  functions. 
The  atmosphere  was  contagious,  and  Leicester,  who  saw 
all  around  wishing  or  fearing  his  advancement  or  his  fall, 
forgot  all  that  love  had  previously  dictated,  and  saw  noth- 
ing for  the  instant  but  the  favour  or  disgrace  which  de- 
pended on  the  nod  of  Elizabeth  and  the  fidelity  of  Varney. 
He  summoned  himself  hastily,  and  prepared  to  play  his 
part  in  the  scene  which  was  like  to  ensue,  when,  as  he 
judged  from  the  glances  which  the  queen  threw  towards 
him,  Varney's  communications,  be  they  what  they  might, 
were  operating  in  his  favour.  Elizabeth  did  not  long 
leave  him  in  doubt ;  for  the  more  than  favour  with  which 
she  accosted  him,  decided  his  triumph  in  the  eyes  of  his 


KENILWORTH. 


221 


rival,  and  of  the  assembled  court  of  England — "  Thou 
hast  a  prating  servant  of  this  same  Varney,  my  lord," 
she  said  ;  "  it  is  lucky  you  trust  him  with  nothing  that  can 
hurt  you  in  our  opinion,  for  believe  me,  he  would  keep 
no  counsel." 

"  From  your  highness,"  said  Leicester,  dropping 
gracefully  on  one  knee,  "  it  were  treason  he  should.  1 
would  that  my  heart  itself  lay  before  you,  barer  than  the 
tongue  of  any  servant  could  strip  it." 

"  What,  my  lord,"  said  Elizabeth,  looking  kindly  upon 
him,  "  is  there  no  one  little  corner  over  which  you  would 
wish  to  spread  a  veil  ?  Ah  !  I  see  you  are  confused  at  the 
question,  and  your  queen  knows  she  should  not  look  too 
deeply  into  her  servants'  motives  for  their  faithful  duty, 
lest  she  see  what  might,  or  at  least  ought  to  displease 
her." 

Relieved  by  these  last  wrords,  Leicester  broke  out  into 
a  torrent  of  expressions  of  deep  and  passionate  attach- 
ment, which  perhaps,  at  that  moment,  were  not  altogether 
fictitious.  The  mingled  emotions  which  had  at  first 
overcome  him,  had  now  given  way  to  the  energetic 
vigour  with  which  he  had  determined  to  support  his 
place  in  the  queen's  favour  )  and  never  did  he  seem 
to  Elizabeth  more  eloquent,  more  handsome,  more  in- 
teresting, than  while,  kneeling  at  her  feet,  he  conjured 
her  to  strip  him  of  all  his  power,  but  to  leave  him  the 
name  of  her  servant — "  Take  from  the  poor  Dudley," 
he  exclaimed,  "  all  that  your  bounty  has  made  him,  and 
bid  him  be  the  poor  gentleman  he  was  when  your  grace 
first  shone  on  him  ;  leave  him  no  more  than  his  cloak  and 
his  sword,  but  let  him  still  boast  he  has — what  in  word 
or  deed  he  never  forfeited — the  regard  of  his  adored 
queen  and  mistress  !" 

"  No,  Dudley  !"  said  Elizabeth,  raising  him  with  one 
hand,  while  she  extended  the  other  that  he  might  kiss  it ; 
"  Elizabeth  hath  not  forgotten  that,  whilst  you  were  a 
poor  gentleman,  despoiled  of  your  hereditary  rank,  she 
was  as  poor  a  princess,  and  that  in  her  cause  you  then 
19*     VOL.  I. 


222 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


ventured  all  that  oppression  had  left  you — your  life  and 
honour. — Rise,  my  lord,  and  let  my  hand  go  ! — Rise,  and 
be  what  you  have  ever  been,  the  grace  of  our  court,  and 
the  support  of  our  throne.  Your  mistress  may  be  forced 
to  chide  your  misdemeanours,  but  never  without  owning 
your  merits. — And  so  help  me  God,"  she  added,  turning 
to  the  audience,  who,  with  various  feelings,  witnessed  this 
interesting  scene, — "  So  help  me  God,  gentlemen,  as  I 
think  never  sovereign  had  a  truer  servant  than  I  have  in 
this  noble  earl." 

A  murmur  of  assent  rose  from  the  Leicestrian  faction, 
which  the  friends  of  Sussex  dared  not  oppose.  They 
remained  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  dismayed 
as  well  as  mortified  by  the  public  and  absolute  triumph  of 
their  opponents.  Leicester's  first  use  of  the  familiarity 
to  which  the  queen  had  so  publicly  restored  him,  was  to 
ask  her  commands  concerning  Varney's  offence.  "  Al- 
though," he  said,  "  the  fellow  deserves  nothing  from  me 
but  displeasure,  yet,  might  I  presume  to  intercede"  

"  In  truth,  we  had  forgotten  his  matter,"  said  the 
queen  ;  "  and  it  was  ill  done  of  us,  who  owe  justice  to 
our  meanest,  as  well  as  to  our  highest  subject.  We  are 
pleased,  my  lord,  that  you  were  the  first  to  recall  the  mat- 
ter to  our  memory. — Where  is  Tressilian,  the  accuser  ? 
— let  him  come  before  us." 

Tressilian  appeared,  and  made  a  low  and  beseeming 
reverence.  His  person,  as  we  have  elsewhere  observed, 
had  an  air  of  grace  and  even  of  nobleness,  which  did  not 
escape  Queen  Elizabeth's  critical  observation.  She 
looked  at  him  with  attention  as  he  stood  before  her  una- 
bashed, but  with  an  air  of  the  deepest  dejection. 

"  I  cannot  but  grieve  for  this  gentleman,"  she  said  to 
Leicester.  "  I  have  inquired  concerning  him,  and  his 
presence  confirms  what  I  heard,  that  he  is  a  scholar  and 
a  soldier,  well  accomplished  both  in  arts  and  arms.  We 
women,  my  lord,  are  fanciful  in  our  choice — I  had  said 
now,  to  judge  by  the  eye,  there  was  no  comparison  to  be 
held  betwixt  your  follower  and  this  gentleman.  But 
Varney  is  a  well  spoken  fellow,  and  to  speak  truth,  that 


KENIIWORTH, 


223 


goes  far  with  us  of  the  weaker  sex. — Look  you,  Master 
Tressilian,  a  bolt  lost  is  not  a  bow  broken.  Your  true 
affection,  as  I  will  hold  it  to  be,  hath  been,  it  seems,  but 
ill  requited  ;  but  you  have  scholarship,  and  you  know 
there  have  been  false  Cressidas  to  be  found,  from  the 
Trojan  war  downwards.  Forget,  good  sir,  this  Lady 
Light  a'  Love — teach  your  affection  to  see  with  a  wiser 
eye.  This  we  say  to  you,  more  from  the  writings  of 
learned  men,  than  our  own  knowledge,  being,  as  we  are, 
far  removed  by  station  and  will,  from  the  enlargement 
of  experience  in  such  idle  toys  of  humorous  passion. 
For  this  dame's  father,  we  can  make  his  grief  the  less, 
by  advancing  his  son-in-law  to  such  station  as  may  enable 
him  to  give  an  honourable  support  to  his  bride.  Thou 
shalt  not  be  forgotten  thyself,  Tressilian — follow  our 
court,  and  thou  shalt  see  that  a  true  Troilus  hath  some 
claim  on  our  grace.  Think  of  what  that  arch-knave 
Shakspeare  says — a  plague  on  him,  his  toys  come  into  my 
head  when  I  should  think  of  other  matter — Stay,  how 
goes  it  ? 

Cressid  was  yours,  tied  with  the  bonds  of  heaven  ; 
These  bonds  of  heaven  areslipt,  dissolved  and  loosed; 
And  with  another  knot  five  fingers  tied, 
'  The  fragments  of  her  faith  are  bound  to  Diomed. 

You  smile,  my  Lord  of  Southampton — perchance  I  make 
your  player's  verse  halt  through  my  bad  memory — but 
let  it  suffice — let  there  be  no  more  of  this  mad  matter." 

And  as  Tressilian  kept  the  posture  of  one  who  would 
willingly  be  heard,  though,  at  the  same  time,  expressive 
of  the  deepest  reverence,  the  queen  added  with  some 
impatience, — "  What  would  the  man  have  ?  The  wench 
cannot  wed  both  of  you  ? — She  has  made  her  election — 
not  a  wise  one  perchance — but  she  is  Varney's  wedded 
wife." 

if  My  suit  should  sleep  there,  most  gracious  sovereign," 
said  Tressilian,  "  and  with  my  suit  my  revenge.  But  I 
hold  this  Varney's  word  no  good  warrant  for  the  truth." 


224 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


"  Had  that  doubt  been  elsewhere  urged,"  answered 
Varney,  "  my  sword"  

"  Thy  sword  I"  interrupted  Tressilian,  scornfully ; 
"  with  her  grace's  leave,  my  sword  shall  show"  

"  Peace,  you  knaves  both,"  said  the  queen  ;  "  know 
you  where  you  are  ? — This  comes  of  your  feuds,  my 
lords,"  she  added,  looking  towards  Leicester  and  Sus- 
sex ;  "  your  followers  catch  your  own  humour,  and  must 
bandy  and  brawl  in  my  court,  and  in  my  very  presence, 
like  so  many  Metamoros. — Look  you,  sirs,  he  that  speaks 
of  drawing  swords  in  any  other  quarrel  than  mine  or  Eng- 
land's, by  mine  honour  I'll  bracelet  him  with  iron  both  on 
wrist  and  ancle  !"  She  then  paused  a  minute,  and  re- 
sumed in  a  milder  tone,  "  I  must  do  justice  betwixt  the 
bold  and  mutinous  knaves  notwithstanding. — My  Lord  of 
Leicester,  will  you  warrant  with  your  honour, — that  is, 
to  the  best  of  your  belief, — that  your  servant  speaks  truth 
in  saying  he  hath  married  this  Amy  Robsart?" 

This  was  a  home  thrust,  and  had  nearly  staggered 
Leicester.  But  he  had  now  gone  too  far  to  recede,  and 
answered,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  "  To  the  best  of 
my  belief — indeed  on  my  certain  knowledge — she  is  a 
wedded  wife." 

"  Gracious  madam,"  said  Tressilian,  "  may  I  yet  re- 
quest to  know,  when  and  under  what  circumstances  this 
alleged  marriage"  

"  Out,  sirrah,"  answered  the  queen  ;  "  alleged  mar- 
riage ! — Have  you  not  the  word  of  this  illustrious  earl  to 
warrant  the  truth  of  what  his  servant  says  ?  But  thou  art 
a  loser — think'st  thyself  such  at  least — and  thou  shalt 
have  indulgence — we  will  look  into  the  matter  ourself 
more  at  leisure. — My  Lord  of  Leicester,  I  trust  you  re- 
member we  mean  to  taste  the  good  cheer  of  your  Castle 
of  Kenilworth  on  this  week  ensuing — we  will  pray  you 
to  bid  our  good  and  valued  friend  the  Earl  of  Sussex  to 
hold  company  with  us  there." 

"  If  the  noble  Earl  of  Sussex,"  said  Leicester  bowing 
to  his  rival  with  the  easiest  and  with  the  most  graceful 
courtesy,  "  will  so  far  honour  my  poor  house,  I  will  hold 


KENILWORTII. 


225 


it  an  additional  proof  of  the  amicable  regard  it  is  your 
grace's  desire  we  should  entertain  towards  each  other." 

Sussex  was  more  embarrassed — "  I  should,"  said  he, 
"  madam,  be  but  a  clog  on  your  gayer  hours  since  my 
late  severe  illness." 

"  And  have  you  been  indeed  so  very  ill  ?"  said  Eliza- 
beth, looking  on  him  with  more  attention  than  before ; 
"  you  are  in  faith  strangely  altered,  and  deeply  am  I 
grieved  to  see  it.  But  be  of  good  cheer — we  will  our- 
selves look  after  the  health  of  so  valued  a  servant,  and  to 
whom  wTe  owe  so  much.  Masters  shall  order  your  diet ; 
and  that  we  ourselves  may  see  that  he  is  obeyed,  you 
must  attend  us  in  this  progress  to  Kenilworth." 

This  was  said  so  peremptorily  and  at  the  same  time 
with  so  much  kindness,  that  Sussex,  however  unwilling 
to  become  the  guest  of  his  rival,  had  no  resource  but  to 
bow  low  to  the  queen  in  obedience  to  her  commands, 
and  to  express  to  Leicester  with  blunt  courtesy,  though 
mingled  with  embarrassment,  his  acceptance  of  his  invi- 
tation. As  the  earls  exchanged  compliments  on  the  oc- 
casion, the  queen  said  to  her  high  #easurer,  "  Methinks, 
my  lord,  the  countenances  of  these  our  two  noble  peers 
resemble  that  of  the  two  famed  classic  streams,  the  one 
so  dark  and  sad,  the  other  so  fair  and  noble — My  old 
Master  Ascham  would  have  chid  me  for  forgetting  the 
author — It  is  Caesar,  as  I  think. — See  what  majestic 
calmness  sits  on  the  brow  of  the  noble  Leicester,  while 
Sussex  seems  to  greet  him  as  if  he  did  our  will  indeed, 
but  not  willingly." 

"  The  doubt  of  your  majesty's  favour,"  answered  the 
lord  treasurer,  "  may  perchance  occasion  the  difference, 
which  does  not — as  what  does — escape  your  grace's 
eye." 

"  Such  doubts  were  injurious  to  us,  my  lord,"  replied 
the  queen.  "  We  hold  both  to  be  near  and  dear  to  us, 
and  will  with  impartiality  employ  both  in  honourable  ser- 
vice for  the  weal  of  our  kingdom.  But  we  will  break 
their  further  conference  at  present, — -My  Lords  of  Sussex 
and  Leicester,  we  have  a  word  more  with  you.  Tres- 


226 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


silian  and  Varney  are  near  your  persons — you  will  see 
that  they  attend  you  at  Kenilworth — And  as  we  will  then 
have  both  Paris  and  Menelaus  within  our  call,  so  we  will 
have  this  same  fair  Helen  also,  whose  fickleness  has 
caused  this  broil. — Varney,  thy  wife  must  be  at  Kenil- 
worth, and  forthcoming  at  my  order. — My  Lord  of 
Leicester,  we  expect  you  will  look  to  this." 

The  earl  and  his  followers  bowed  low,  and  raised  their 
heads  without  daring  to  look  at  the  queen,  or  at  each 
other ;  for  both  felt  at  that  instant  as  if  the  nets  and  toils 
which  their  own  falsehood  had  woven,  were  in  the  act  of 
closing  round  them.  The  queen,  however,  observed  not 
their  confusion,  but  proceeded  to  say,  "  My  Lords  of 
Sussex  and  Leicester,  we  require  your  presence  at  the 
privy-council  to  be  presently  held,  where  matters  of  im- 
portance are  to  be  debated.  We  will  then  take  the  wa- 
ter for  our  divertisement,  and  you,  my  lords,  will  attend 
us. — And  that  reminds  us  of  a  circumstance — Do  you, 
Sir  Squire  of  the  Soiled  Cassock,  (distinguishing  Raleigh 
by  a  smile)  fail  not  to  observe  that  you  are  to  attend  us 
on  our  progress.  You  shall  be  supplied  with  suitable 
means  to  reform  your  wardrobe." 

And  so  terminated  this  celebrated  audience,  in  which, 
as  throughout  her  life,  Elizabeth  united  the  occasional 
caprice  of  her  sex,  with  that  sense  and  sound  policy,  in 
which  neither  man  nor  woman  ever  excelled  her. 


KEKII.WORTH. 


227 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Well,  then — our  course  is  chosen — spread  the  sail — 
Heave  oft  the  lead,  and  mark  the  soundings  well — ■ 
Look  to  the  helm,  good  master — many  a  shoal 
Marks  this  stern  coast,  and  rocks,  where  sits  the  Syren, 
Who  like  ambition  lures  men  to  their  ruin. 

The  Shipwreck. 

During  the  brief  interval  that  intervened  betwixt  the 
dismissal  of  the  audience  and  the  sitting  of  the  privy 
council,  Leicester  had  time  to  reflect  that  he  had  that 
morning  sealed  his  own  fate.  "  It  was  impossible  for  him 
now,"  he  thought,  "  after  having  in  the  face  of  all  that 
was  honourable  in  England,  pledged  his  truth  (though  in 
ambiguous  phrase)  for  the  statement  of  Varney,  to  con- 
tradict or  disavow  it,  without  exposing  himself,  not  merely 
to  the  loss  of  court-favour,  but  to  the  highest  displeasure 
of  the  queen,  his  deceived  mistress,  and  to  the  scorn  and 
contempt  at  once  of  his  rival  and  of  all  his  compeers." 
This  certainty  rushed  at  once  on  his  mind,  together  with 
all  the  difficulties  which  he  would  necessarily  be  exposed 
to  in  preserving  a  secret,  which  seemed  now  equally  es- 
sential to  his  safety,  to  his  power,  and  to  his  honour.  He 
was  situated  like  one  who  walks  upon  ice,  ready  to  give 
way  around  him,  and  whose  only  safety  consists  in  moving 
onwards,  by  firm  and  unvacillating  steps.  The  queen's 
favour,  to  preserve  which  he  had  made  such  sacrifices, 
must  now  be  secured  by  all  means  and  at  all  hazards — 
it  was  the  only  plank  which  he  could  cling  to  in  the  tem- 
pest. He  must  settle  himself,  therefore,  to  the  task  of 
not  only  preserving,  but  augmenting  the  queen's  partiality 
— He  must  be  the  favourite  of  Elizabeth,  or  a  man  ut- 
terly shipwrecked  in  fortune  and  in  honour.  All  other 
considerations  must  be  laid  aside  for  the  moment,  and  he 
repelled  the  intrusive  thoughts  which  forced  on  his  mind 


228 


KENILWORTH. 


the  image  of  Amy,  by  saying  to  himself,  there  would  be 
time  to  think  hereafter  how  he  was  to  escape  from  the 
labyrinth  ultimately,  since  the  pilot,  who  sees  a  Scylla 
under  his  bows,  must  not  for  the  time  think  of  the  more 
distant  dangers  of  Charybdis. 

Iir  this  mood,  the  Earl  of  Leicester  that  day  assumed 
his  chair  at  the  council  table  of  Elizabeth ;  and  when 
the  hours  of  business  were  over,  in  the  same  mood  did 
he  occupy  an  honoured  place  near  to  her,  during  her 
pleasure  excursion  on  the  Thames.  And  never  did  he 
display  to  more  advantage  his  powers  as  a  politician  of 
the  first  rank,  or  his  parts  as  an  accomplished  courtier. 

It  chanced  that  in  that  day's  council,  matters  were  agi- 
tated touching  the  affairs  of  the  unfortunate  Mary,  the 
seventh  year  of  whose  captivity  in  England  was  now  in 
doleful  currency.  There  had  been  opinions  in  favour  of 
this  unhappy  princess  laid  before  Elizabeth's  council,  and 
supported  with  much  strength  of  argument  by  Sussex  and 
others,  who  dwelt  more  upon  the  law  of  nations  and  the 
breach  of  hospitality,  than,  however  softened  or  qualified, 
was  agreeable  to  the  queen's  ear.  Leicester  adopted 
the  contrary  opinion  with  great  animation  and  eloquence, 
and  described  the  necessity  of  continuing  the  severe  re- 
straint of  the  Queen  of  Scots,  as  a  measure  essential  to 
the  safety  of  the  kingdom,  and  particularly  of  Elizabeth's 
sacred  person,  the  lightest  hair  of  whose  head  he  main- 
tained, ought,  in  their  lordships'  estimation,  to  be  matter 
of  more  deep  and  anxious  concern,  than  the  life  and  for- 
tunes of  a  rival,  who,  after  setting  up  a  vain  and  unjust 
pretence  to  the  throne  of  England,  was  now,  even  while 
in  the  bosom  of  her  country,  the  constant  hope  and  theme 
of  all  enemies  to  Elizabeth,  whether  at  home  or  abroad. 
He  ended  by  craving  pardon  of  their  lordships,  if  in  the 
zeal  of  speech  he  had  given  any  offence  ;  but  the  queen's 
safety  was  a  theme  which  hurried  him  beyond  his  usual 
moderation  of  debate. 

Elizabeth  chid  him,  but  not  severely,  for  the  weight 
which  he  attached  unduly  to  her  personal  interests  ;  yet 
she  owned,  that  since  it  had  been  the  pleasure  of  heaven 


KEMLVVORTIL 


229 


to  combine  those  interests  with  the  weal  of  her  subjects, 
she  did  only  her  duty  when  she  adopted  such  measures 
of  self-preservation  as  circumstances  forced  upon  her  ; 
and  if  the  council  in  their  wisdom  should  be  of  opinion, 
that  it  was  needful  to  continue  some  restraint  on  the  per- 
son of  her  unhappy  sister  of  Scotland,  she  trusted  they 
would  not  blame  her  if  she  requested  of  the  Countess  of 
Shrewsbury  to  use  her  with  as  much  kindness  as  might 
be  consistent  with  her  safe  keeping.  And  with  this  inti- 
mation of  her  pleasure,  the  council  was  dismissed. 

Never  was  more  anxious  and  ready  way  made  for  "  my 
Lord  of  Leicester,"  than  as  he  passed  through  the  crowd- 
ed ante-rooms  to  go  towards  the  river-side,  in  order  to 
attend  her  majesty  to  her  barge — Never  was  the  voice  of 
the  ushers  louder,  to  "  make  room — make  room  for  the 
noble  earl" — Never  were  these  signals  more  promptly 
and  reverentially  obeyed — Never  were  more  anxious  eyes 
turned  on  him  to  obtain  a  glance  of  favour,  or  even  of 
mere  recognition,  while  the  heart  of  many  a  humble  fol- 
lower throbbed  betwixt  desire  to  offer  his  congratulations, 
and  fear  of  intruding  himself  on  the  notice  of  one  so  in- 
finitely above  him.  The  whole  court  considered  the 
issue  of  this  day's  audience,  expected  with  so  much  doubt 
and  anxiety,  as  a  decisive  triumph  on  the  part  of  Leices- 
ter, and  felt  assured  that  the  orb  of  his  rival  satellite,  if 
not  altogether  obscured  by  his  lustre,  must  revolve  here- 
after in  a  dimmer  and  more  distant  sphere.  So  thought 
the  court  and  courtiers,  from  high  to  low  ;  and  they  act- 
ed accordingly. 

On  the  other  hand,  never  did  Leicester  return  the  gen- 
eral greeting  with  such  ready  and  condescending  courtesy, 
or  endeavour  more  successfully  to  gather  (in  the  words 
of  one,  who  at  that  moment  stood  at  no  great  distance 
from  him)  "  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  men." 

For  all,  the  favourite  earl  had  a  bow,  a  smile  at  least, 
and  often  a  kind  word.  Most  of  these  were  addressed 
to  courtiers,  whose  names  have  long  gone  down  the  tide 
of  oblivion  ;  but  some,  to  such  as  sound  strangely  in  our 
20    vol.  i. 


230 


KEN  11  WORTH. 


ears,  when  connected  with  the  ordinary  matters  of  human 
life,  above  which  the  gratitude  of  posterity  has  long  ele- 
vated them.  A  few  of  Leicester's  interlocutory  senten- 
ces ran  as  follows  : 

"  Poyning,  good  morrow,  and  how  does  your  wife  and 
fair  daughter  ?  Why  come  they  not  to  court  ? — Adams, 
your  suit  is  naught — the  queen  will  grant  no  more  mo- 
nopolies— but  I  may  serve  you  in  another  matter. — My 
good  Alderman  Aylford,  the  suit  of  the  city,  affecting 
Queenhithe,  shall  be  forwarded  as  far  as  my  poor  inter- 
est can  serve. — Master  Edmund  Spencer,  touching  your 
Irish  petition,  I  would  willingly  aid  you  from  my  love  to 
the  Muses  ;  but  thou  hast  nettled  the  lord  treasurer." 

"  My  lord,"  said  the  poet,  "  were  I  permitted  to  ex- 
plain"  

"  Come  to  my  lodgings,  Edmund,"  answered  the  earl — 
"  not  to-morrow,  or  next  day,  but  soon.— Ha,  Will  Shak- 
speare — wild  Will ! — thou  hast  given  my  nephew  Philip 
Sidney,  love-powder — he  cannot  sleep  without  thy  Venus 
and  Adonis  under  his  pillow  !  We  will  have  thee  hanged 
for  the  veriest  wizard  in  Europe.  Hark  thee,  mad  wag, 
I  have  not  forgotten  thy  matter  of  the  patent,  and  of  the 
bears." 

The  player  bowed,  and  the  earl  nodded  and  passed  on 
— so  that  age  would  have  told  the  tale — in  ours,  perhaps, 
we  might  say  the  immortal  had  done  homage  to  the  mor- 
tal. The  next  whom  the  favourite  accosted,  was  one  of 
his  own  zealous  dependants. 

"  How  now,  Sir  Francis  Denning,"  he  whispered,  in 
answer  to  his  exulting  salutation,  "  that  smile  hath  made 
thy  face  shorter  by  one-third  than  when  I  first  saw  it  this 
morning. — What,  Master  Bowyer,  stand  you  back,  and 
think  you  I  bear  malice  ?  You  did  but  your  duty  this 
morning ;  and,  if  I  remember  aught  of  the  passage  be- 
twixt us,  it  shall  be  in  thy  favour." 

Then  the  earl  was  approached  with  several  fantastic 
congees,  by  a  person  quaintly  dressed  in  a  doublet  of 
black  velvet,  curiously  slashed  and  pinked  with  crimson 
satin.    A  long  cock's  feather  in  the  velvet  bonnet,  which 


231 


he  held  in  his  hand,  and  an  enormous  ruff,  stiffened  to 
the  extremity  of  the  absurd  taste  of  the  time,  joined  with 
a  sharp,  lively,  conceited  expression  of  countenance, 
seemed  to  body  forth  a  vain,  hair-brained  coxcomb  and 
small  wit ;  while  the  rod  he  held,  and  an  assumption  of 
formal  authority,  appeared  to  express  some  sense  of  offi- 
cial consequence,  which  qualified  the  natural  pertness  of 
his  manner.  A  perpetual  blush,  which  occupied  rather 
the  sharp  nose  than  the  thin  cheek  of  this  personage  seem- 
ed to  speak  more  of  "  good  life,"  as  it  was  called,  than 
of  modesty  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  he  approached  to 
the  earl,  confirmed  that  suspicion. 

"  Good  even  to  you,  Master  Robert  Laneham,"  said 
Leicester,  and  seemed  desirous  to  pass  forward,  without 
further  speech. 

"  I  have  a  suit  to  your  noble  lordship,"  said  the  figure, 
boldly  following  him. 

"  And  what  is  it,  good  master  keeper  of  the  council- 
chamber  door  ?" 

"  Clerk  of  the  council-chamber  door,"  said  Master 
Robert  Laneham,  with  emphasis,  by  way  of  reply  and  of 
correction. 

"  Well,  qualify  thine  office  as  thou  wilt,  man,"  replied 
the  earl ;  "  what  wouldst  thou  have  with  me  ?" 

"  Simply,"  answered  Laneham,  "  that  your  lordship 
would  be,  as  heretofore,  my  good  lord,  and  procure  me 
license  to  attend  the  summer  progress  unto  your  lord- 
ship's most  beautiful,  and  all-to-be-unmatched  Castle  of 
Kenil  worth." 

"  Tjo  what  purpose,  good  Master  Laneham,"  replied 
the  earl ;  "  bethink  you  my  guests  must  needs  be  many." 

"  Not  so  many,"  replied  the  petitioner,  "  but  that  your 
nobleness  will  willingly  spare  your  old  servitor  his  crib 
and  his  mess.  Bethink  you,  my  lord,  how  necessary  is 
this  rod  of  mine,  to  fright  away  all  those  listeners,  who 
else  would  play  at  bo-peep  with  the  honourable  council, 
and  be  searching  for  key-holes  and  crannies  in  the  door 
of  the  chamber,  so  as  to  render  my  staff  as  needful  as  a 
fly-flap  in  a  butcher's  shop." 


232 


KENILWOHTH. 


"  Methinks  you  have  found  out  a  fly-blown  comparison 
for  the  honourable  council,  Master  Laneham,"  said  the 
earl ;  "  but  seek  not  about  to  justify  it.  Come  to  Kenil- 
worth,  if  you  list ;  there  will  be  store  of  fools  there  be- 
side, so  you  will  be  fitted." 

"  Nay,  an  there  be  fools,  my  lord,"  replied  Laneham, 
with  much  glee,  "  I  warrant  I  will  make  sport  among 
them  ;  for  no  greyhound  loves  to  cote  a  hare,  as  I  to 
turn  and  course  a  fool.  But  I  have  another  singular 
favour  to  beseech  of  your  honour." 

"  Speak  it,  and  let  me  go,"  said  the  £arl ;  "  I  think 
the  queen  comes  forth  instantly." 

"  My  lord,  I  would  fain  bring  a  bed-fellow  with  me." 

"  How,  you  irreverent  rascal  !"  said  Leicester. 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  my  meaning  is  within  the  canons," 
answered  his  unblushing,  or  rather  his  ever-blushing  pe- 
titioner. "  I  have  a  wife  as  curious  as  her  grandmother, 
who  eat  the  apple.  Now,  take  her  with  me  I  may  not, 
her  highness's  orders  being  so  strict  against  the  officers 
bringing  with  them  their  wives  in  a  progress,  and  so  lum- 
bering the  court  with  womankind.  But  what  I  would 
crave  of  your  lordship,  is,  to  find  room  for  her  in  some 
mummery,  or  pretty  pageant,  in  disguise,  as  it  were ;  so 
that,  not  being  known  for  my  wife,  there  may  be  no 
offence." 

"  The  foul  fiend  seize  ye  both  !"  said  Leicester,  stung 
into  uncontrollable  passion  by  the  recollection  which  this 
speech  excited — "  Why  stop  you  me  with  such  follies  ?" 

The  terrified  clerk  of  the  chamber-door,  astonished  at 
the  burst  of  resentment  he  had  so  unconsciously  produc- 
ed, dropped  his  staff  of  office  from  his  hand,  and  gazed 
on  the  incensed  earl  with  a  foolish  face  of  wonder  and 
terror,  which  instantly  recalled  Leicester  to  himself. 

"  I  meant  but  to  try  if  thou  hadst  the  audacity  which 
befits  thine  office,"  said  he  hastily.  "  Come  to  Kenil- 
worth,  and  bring  the  devil  with  thee,  if  thou  wilt." 

"  My  wife,  sir,  hath  played  the  devil  ere  now  in  a  Mys- 
tery, in  Queen  Mary's  time — -but  we  shall  want  a  trifle 
for  properties." 


KE  NIL  WORT  II. 


233 


"  Here  is  a  crown  for  thee,"  said  the  earl, — "  make 
me  rid  of  thee — the  great  bell  rings." 

Master  Robert  Laneham  stared  a  moment  at  the  agi- 
tation which  he  had  excited,  and  then  said  to  himself,  as 
he  stooped  to  pick  up  his  staff  of  office,  "  The  noble 
earl  runs  wild  humours  to-day  ;  but  they  who  give  crowns, 
expect  us  witty  fellows  to  wink  at  their  unsettled  starts ; 
and,  by  my  faith,  if  they  paid  not  for  mercy,  we  would 
finger  them  tightly." 

Leicester  moved  hastily  on,  neglecting  the  courtesies  he 
had  hitherto  dispersed  so  liberally,  and  hurrying  through 
the  courtly  crowd,  until  he  paused  in  a  small  withdrawing 
room,  into  which  he  plunged  to  draw  a  moment's  breath 
unobserved,  and  in  seclusion. 

"  What  am  I  now,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  that  am  thus 
jaded  by  the  words  of  a  mean,  weather-beaten,  goose- 
brained  gull ! — Conscience,  thou  art  a  blood-hound,  whose 
growl  wakes  as  readily  at  the  paltry  stir  of  a  rat  or  mouse, 
as  at  the  step  of  a  lion. — Can  I  not  quit  myself  by  one 
bold  stroke  of  a  state  so  irksome,  so  unhonoured  ?  What 
if  I  kneel  to  Elizabeth,  and,  owning  the  whole,  throw  my- 
self on  her  mercy  ?"  

As  he  pursued  this  train  of  thought,  the  door  of  the 
apartment  opened,  and  Varney  rushed  in. 

"  Thank  God,  my  lord,  that  I  have  found  you,"  was 
his  exclamation. 

"  Thank  the  devil,  whose  agent  thou  art,"  was  the 
earl's  reply. 

"  Thank  whom  you  will,  my  lord,"  replied  Varney ; 
"  but  hasten  to  the  water-side.  The  queen  is  on  board, 
and  asks  for  you." 

"  Go,  say  I  am  taken  suddenly  ill,"  replied  Leicester  ; 
"  for,  by  heaven,  my  brain  can  sustain  this  no  longer." 

"  I  may  well  say  so,"  said  Varney,  with  bitterness  of 
expression  ;  "  for  your  place,  ay,  and  mine,  who,  as  your 
master  of  the  horse  was  to  have  attended  your  lordship, 
is  already  filled  up  in  the  queen's  barge.  The  new  min- 
ion, Walter  Raleigh,  and  our  old  acquaintance,  Tressilian, 
20*    vol.  i. 


234 


KENIL  WORTH. 


were  called  for  to  fill  our  places  just  as  I  hastened  away 
to  seek  you." 

"  Thou  art  a  devil,  Varney,"  said  Leicester  hastily ; 
"  but  thou  hast  the  mastery  for  the  present— I  follow 
thee." 

Varney  replied  not,  but  led  the  way  out  of  the  palace, 
and  towards  the  river,  while  his  master  followed  him,  as 
if  mechanically ;  until,  looking  back,  he  said  in  a  tone 
which  savoured  of  familiarity  at  least,  if  not  of  authority, 
"  How  is  this,  my  lord  ? — your  cloak  hangs  on  one  side, 
— your  hose  are  unbraced — permit  me"  

"  Thou  art  a  fool,  Varney,  as  well  as  a  knave,"  said 
Leicester,  shaking  him  off  and  rejecting  his  officious  as- 
sistance ;  we  are  best  thus,  sir — when  we  require  you  to 
order  our  person,  it  is  well,  but  now  we  want  you  not." 

So  saying,  the  earl  resumed  at  once  his  air  of  com- 
mand, and  with  it  his  self-possession — shook  his  dress  into 
yet  wilder  disorder — passed  before  Varney  with  the  air 
of  a  superior  and  master,  and  in  his  turn  led  the  way  to 
the  river-side. 

The  queen's  barge  was  on  the  very  point  of  putting 
off ;  the  seat  allotted  to  Leicester  in  the  stern,  and  that 
to  his  master  of  the  horse  on  the  bow  of  the  boat,  being 
alieady  filled  up.  But  on  Leicester's  approach,  there 
was  a  pause,  as  if  the  bargemen  anticipated  some  altera- 
tion in  their  company.  The  angry  spot  was,  however,  in 
the  queen's  cheek,  as,  in  that  cold  tone  with  which  su- 
periors endeavour  to  veil  their  internal  agitation,  while 
speaking  to  those  before  whom  it  would  be  derogation 
to  express  it,  she  pronounced  the  chilling  words — "  We 
have  waited,  my  Lord  of  Leicester." 

"  Madam,  and  most  gracious  princess,"  said  Leices- 
ter, "  you  who  can  pardon  so  many  weaknesses  which 
your  own  heart  never  knows,  can  best  bestow  your  com- 
miseration on  the  agitations  of  the  bosom,  which  for  a 
moment,  affect  both  head  and  limbs. — I  came  to  your 
presence,  a  doubting  and  an  accused  subject ;  your  good- 
ness penetrated  the  clouds  of  defamation,  and  restored 
me  to  my  own  honour,  and,  what  is  yet  dearer,  to  your 


KUNI-LWOUTH. 


235 


favour — is  it  wonderful,  though  for  me  it  is  most  unhappy, 
that  my  master  of  the  horse  should  have  found  me  in  a 
state  which  scarce  permitted  me  to  make  the  exertion 
necessary  to  follow  him  to  this  place,  when  one  glance 
of  your  highness,  although  alas  !  an  angry  one,  has  had 
power  to  do  that  for  me,  in  which  Esculapius  might  have 
failed  ?" 

"  How  is  this  ?"  said  Elizabeth,  hastily,  looking  at  Var- 
ney  ;  "  hath  your  lord  been  ill  ?" 

"  Something  of  a  fainting  fit,"  answered  the  ready- 
witted  Varney,  "  as  your  grace  may  observe  from  his 
present  condition.  My  lord's  haste  would  not  permit  me 
leisure  even  to  bring  his  dress  into  order." 

"  It  matters  not,"  said  Elizabeth,  as  she  gazed  on  the 
noble  face  and  form  of  Leicester,  to  which  even  the 
strange  mixture  of  passions  by  which  he  had  been  so 
lately  agitated,  *gave  additional  interest,  "  make  room 
for  my  noble  lord — Your  place,  Master  Varney  has  been 
filled  up  ;  you  must  find  a  seat  in  another  barge." 

Varney  bowed,  and  withdrew. 

"  And  you  too,  our  young  squire  of  the  cloak,"  added 
she,  looking  at  Raleigh,  "  must,  for  the  time,  go  to  the 
barge  of  our  ladies  of  honour.  As  for  Tressilian,  he 
hath  already  suffered  too  much  by  the  caprice  of  women, 
that  I  should  aggrieve  him  by  my  change  of  plan  so  far 
as  he  is  concerned." 

Leicester  seated  himself  in  his  place  in  the  barge,  and 
close  to  the  sovereign  ;  Raleigh  rose  to  retire,  and  Tres- 
silian would  have  been  so  ill-timed  in  his  courtesy  as  to 
offer  to  relinquish  his  own  place  to  his  friend,  had  not  the 
acute  glance  of  Raleigh  himself,  who  seemed  now  in  his 
native  element,  made  him  sensible,  that  so  ready  a  discla- 
mation of  the  royal  favour  might  be  misinterpreted.  He 
sat  silent,  therefore,  whilst  Raleigh,  with  a  profound  bow, 
and  a  look  of  the  deepest  humiliation,  was  about  to  quit 
his  place. 

A  young  courtier,  the  gallant  Lord  Willoughby,  read, 
as  he  thought,  something  in  the  queen's  face,  which 


236 


KENILWORTH. 


seemed  to  pity  Raleigh's  real  or  assumed  semblance  of 
mortification.  ' 

"  It  is  not  for  us  old  courtiers,"  he  said,  "  to  hide  the 
sunshine  from  the  young  ones.  I  will,  with  her  majesty's 
leave,  relinquish  for  an  hour,  that  which  her  subjects  hold 
dearest,  the  delight  of  her  highness's  presence,  and  mor- 
tify myself  by  walking  in  star-light,  while  I  forsake  for  a 
brief  season,  the  glory  of  Diana's  own  beams.  .1  will 
take  place  in  the  boat  which  the  ladies  occupy,  and  per- 
mit this  young  cavalier  his  hour  of  promised  felicity." 

The  queen  replied  with  an  expression  betwixt  mirth 
and  earnest,  "  If  you  are  so  willing  to  leave  us  my  lord, 
we  cannot  help  the  mortification.  But,  under  favour,  we 
do  not  trust  you — old  and  experienced  as  you  may  deem 
yourself — with  the  care  of  our  young  ladies  of  honour. 
Your  venerable  age,  my  lord,"  she  continued  smiling, 
"  may  be  better  assorted  with  that  of  mjllord  treasurer, 
who  follows  in  the  third  boat,  and  whose  experience  even 
my  Lord  Willoughby's  may  be  improved  by." 

Lord  Willoughby-hid  his  disappointment  under  a  smile 
— laughed,  was  confused,  bowed,  and  left  the  queen's 
barge  to  go  on  board  my  Lord  Burleigh's.  Leices- 
ter, who  endeavoured  to  divert  his  thoughts  from  all  in- 
ternal reflection,  by  fixing  them  on  what  was  passing 
around,  watched  this  circumstance  among  others.  But 
when  the  boat  put  off  from  the  shore — when  the  music 
sounded  from  a  barge  which  accompanied  them — when 
the  shouts  of  the  populace  were  heard  from  the  shore, 
and  all  reminded  him  of  the  situation  in  which  he  was 
placed,  he  abstracted  his  thoughts  and  feelings  by  a  strong 
effort  from  everything  but  the  necessity  of  maintaining 
himself  in  the  favour  of  his  patroness,  and  exerted  his 
talents  of  pleasing  captivation  with  such  success,  that  the 
queen,  alternately  delighted  with  his  conversation,  and 
alarmed  for  his  health,  at  length  imposed  a  temporary 
silence  on  him,  with  playful  yet  anxious  care,  lest  his  flow 
of  spirits  should  exhaust  him. 

"  My  lords,"  she  said,  "  having  passed  for  a  time  our 
edict  of  silence  upon  our  good  Leicester,  we  will  call  you 


KENILWORTII. 


237 


to  counsel  on  a  gamesome  matter,  more  fitted  to  be  now 
treated  of,  amidst  mirth  and  music,  than  in  the  gravity  of 
our  ordinary  deliberations, — Which  of  you,  my  lords," 
said  she,  smiling,  "  know  aught  of  a  petition  from  Orson 
Pinnit,  the  keeper,  as  he  qualifies  himself,  of  our  royal 
bears  ?    Who  stands  godfather  to  his  request  ?" 

"  Marry,  with  your  grace's  good  permission,  that  do  I," 
said  the  Earl  of  Sussex. — Orson  Pinnit  was  a  stout  sol- 
dier before  he  was  so  mangled  by  the  skenes  of  the  Irish 
clan  Mac  Donough,  and  I  trust  your  grace  will  be  as  you 
always  have  been,  good  mistress  to  your  good  and  trusty 
servants." 

"  Surely,"  said  the  queen,  "  it  is  our  purpose  to  be  so, 
and  in  especial  to  our  poor  soldiers  and  sailors,  who  haz- 
ard their  lives  for  little  pay.  We  would  give,"  she  said, 
with  her  eyes  sparkling,  "  yonder  royal  palace  of  ours  to 
be  an  hospital  for  their  use,  rather  than  they  should  call 
their  mistress  ungrateful. — But  this  is  not  the  question," 
she  said,  her  tone,  which  had  been  awakened  by  her  pat- 
riotic feelings,  once  more  subsiding  into  the  tone  of  gay 
and  easy  conversation  ;  "  for  this  Orson  Pinnit's  request 
goes  something  farther.  He  complains,  that  amidst  the 
extreme  delight  with  which  men  haunt  the  play-houses, 
and  in  especial  their  eager  desire  for  seeing  the  exhibi- 
tions of  one  Will  Shakspeare,  (whom  I  think,  my  lords, 
we  have  all  heard  something  of,)  the  manly  amusement 
of  bear-baiting  is  falling  into  comparative  neglect ;  since 
men  will  rather  throng  to  see  these  roguish  players  kill 
each  other  in  jest,  than  to  see  our  royal  dogs  and  bears 
worry  each  other  in  bloody  earnest — What  say  you  to 
this,  my  Lord  of  Sussex  ?" 

"  Why,  truly,  gracious  madam,"  said  Sussex,  "  you 
must  expect  little  from  an  old  soldier  like  me  in  favour  of 
battles  in  sport,  when  they  are  compared  with  battles  in 
earnest  ;  and  yet,  by  my  faith,  I  wish  Will  Shakspeare 
no  harm.  He  is  a  stout  man  at  quarter-staff,  and  single 
falchion,  though,  as  I  am  told,  a  halting  fellow  ;  and  he 
stood,  they  say,  a  tough  fight  with  the  rangers  of  old  Sir 


238  Kenilwoiith. 

Thomas  Lucy  of  Charlecot,  when  he  broke  his  deer-park 
and  kissed  his  keeper's  daughter." 

"  I  cry  you  mercy,  my  Lord  of  Sussex,"  said  Queen 
Elizabeth,  interrupting  him  ;  "  that  matter  was  heard  in 
council,  and  we  will  not  have  this  fellow's  offence  exag- 
gerated— there  was  no  kissing  in  the  matter,  and  the  de- 
fendant hath  put  the  denial  on  record. — But  what  say 
you  to  his  present  practice,  my  lord,  on  the  stage  ?  for 
there  lies  the  point,  and  not  in  any  ways  touching  his  for- 
mer errors,  in  breaking  parks,  or  the  other  follies  you 
speak  of." 

"  Why  truly,  madam,"  replied  Sussex,  "  as  I  said  be- 
fore, I  wish  the  gamesome  mad  fellow  no  injury.  Some 
of  his  whoreson  poetry  (I  crave  your  grace's  pardon  for 
such  a  phrase)  has  rung  in  mine  ears  as  if  they  sounded 
to  boot  and  saddle. — But  then  it  is  all  froth  and  folly — no 
substance  or  seriousness  in  it,  as  your  grace  has  already 
wTell  touched. — What  are  half  a  dozen  knaves,  with  rusty 
foils  and  tattered  targets,  making  but  a  mere  mockery  of 
a  stout  fight,  to  compare  to  the  royal  game  of  bear-baiting, 
which  hath  been  graced  by  your  highness's  countenance, 
and  that  of  your  royal  predecessors,  in  this  your  princely 
kingdom,  famous  for  matchless  mastiffs,  and  bold  bear- 
wards,  over  all  Christendom  ?  Greatly  is  it  to  be  doubt- 
ed that  the  race  of  both  will  decay,  if  men  should  rather 
throng  to  hear  the  lungs  of  an  idle  player  belch  forth  non- 
sensical bombast,  instead  of  bestowing  their  pence  in  en- 
couraging the  bravest  image  of  war  that  can  be  shown  in 
peace,  and  that  is  the  sports  of  the  Bear-garden.  There 
you  may  see  the  bear  lying  at  guard  with  his  red  pinky- 
eyes,  watching  the  onset  of  the  mastiff,  like  a  wily  cap- 
tain, who  maintains  his  defence  that  an  assailant  may  be 
tempted  to  venture  within  his  danger.  And  then  comes 
Sir  Mastiff,  like  a  worthy  champion,  in  full  career  at  the 
throat  of  his  adversary — and  then  shall  Sir  Bruin  teach 
him  the  reward  for  those  who,  in  their  over-courage, 
neglect  the  policies  of  war,  and  catching  him  in  his  arms, 
strain  him  to  his  breast  like  a  lusty  wrestler,  until  rib  after 
rib  crack  like  the  shot  of  a  pistolet.    And  then  another 


I    KEN  III  WORTH. 


239 


mastiff,  as  bold,  but  with  better  aim  and  sounder  judg- 
ment, catches  Sir  Bruin  by  the  nether  lip,  and  hangs  fast, 
while  he  tosses  about  his  blood  and  slaver,  and  tries  in 
vain  to  shake  Sir  Talbot  from  his  hold.    And  then"  

"  Nay,  by  my  honour,  my  lord,"  said  the  queen,  laugh- 
ing, "  you  have  described  the  whole  so  admirably,  that, 
had  we  never  seen  a  bear-baiting,  as  we  have  beheld 
many,  and  hope,  with  heaven's  allowance,  to  see  many 
more,  your  words  were  sufficient  to  put  the  whole  Bear- 
garden before  our  eyes.  But  come,  who  speaks  next  in 
this  case  ? — My  Lord  of  Leicester,  what  say  you  ?" 

"  Am  I  then  to  consider  myself  as  unmuzzled,  please 
your  grace  ?"  replied  Leicester. 

"  Surely,  my  lord — that  is,  if  you  feel  hearty  enough 
to  take  part  in  our  game,"  answered  Elizabeth  ;  "  and 
yet,  when  I  think  of  your  cognizance  of  the  bear  and 
ragged  staff,  methinks  we  had  better  hear  some  less  par- 
tial orator." 

"  Nay,  on  my  word,  gracious  princess,"  said  the  earl, 
"  though  my  brother  Ambrose  of  Warwick  and  I  do  carry 
the  ancient  cognizance  your  highness  deigns  to  remember, 
I  nevertheless  desire  nothing  but  fair  play  on  all  sides  ; 
or,  as  they  say,  '  fight  dog,  fight  bear.'  And  in  behalf 
of  the  players,  I  must  needs  say  that  they  are  witty 
knaves,  whose  rants  and  jests  keep  the  minds  of  the  com- 
mons from  busying  themselves  with  state  affairs,  and  lis- 
tening to  traitorous  speeches,  idle  rumours,  and  disloyal 
insinuations.  When  men  are  agape  to  see  how  Mario w, 
Shakspeare,  and  other  play  artificers,  work  out  their  fan- 
ciful plots  as  they  call  them,  the  mind  of  the  spectators  is~ 
withdrawn  from  the  conduct  of  their  rulers." 

"  We  would  not  have  the  mind  of  our  subjects  with- 
drawn from  the  consideration  of  our  own  conduct,  my 
lord,"  answered  Elizabeth  ;  "  because  the  more  closely 
it  is  examined,  the  true  motives  by  which  we  are  guided 
will  appear  the  more  manifest." 

"  I  have  heard,  however,  madam,"  said  the  Dean  of 
St.  Asaph's,  an  eminent  puritan,  "  that  these  players  are 
wont,  in  their  plays,  not  only  to  introduce  profane  and 


240 


KENILWOllTII. 


lewd  expressions,  tending  to  foster  sin  and  harlotry,  but 
even  to  bellow  out  such  reflections  on  government,  its 
origin  and  its  object,  as  tend  to  render  the  subject  discon- 
tented, and  shake  the  solid  foundations  of  civil  society. 
And  it  seems  to  be,  under  your  grace's  favour,  far  less 
than  safe  to  permit  these  naughty  foul-mouthed  knaves  to 
ridicule  the  godly  for  their  decent  gravity,  and  in  blas- 
pheming heaven,  and  slandering  its  earthly  rulers,  to  set 
at  defiance  the  laws  both  of  God  and  man." 

"  If  we  could  think  this  were  true,  my  lord,"  said  Eliz- 
abeth, "  we  would  give  sharp  correction  for  such  offences. 
But  it  is  ill  arguing  against  the  use  of  anything  from  its 
abuse.  And  touching  this  Shakspeare,  we  think  there  is 
that  in  his  plays  that  is  worth  twenty  Bear-gardens  ;  and 
that  this  new  undertaking  of  his  Chronicles,  as  he  calls 
them,  may  entertain,  with  honest  mirth,  mingled  with  use- 
ful instruction,  not  only  our  subjects,  but  even  the  genera- 
tion which  may  succeed  to  us." 

«  "  Your  majesty's  reign  will  need  no  such  feeble  aid  to 
make  it  remembered  to  the  latest  posterity,"  said  Leices- 
ter. "  And  yet,  in  his  way,  Shakspeare  hath  so  touched 
some  incidents  of  your  majesty's  happy  government,  as 
may  countervail  what  has  been  spoken  by  his  reverence 
the  Dean  of  St.  Asaph's.  There  are-  some  lines,  for  ex- 
ample— I  would  my  nephew,  Philip  Sidney,  were  here, 
they  are  scarce  ever  out  of  his  mouth — they  are  spoken 
in  a  mad  tale  of  fairies,  love-charms,  and  I  wot  not  what 
besides  ;  but  beautiful  they  are,  however  short  they  may 
and  must  fall  of  the  subject  to  which  they  bear  a  bold 
relation — and  Philip  murmurs  them,  I  think,  even  in  his 
dreams." 

"  You  tantalize  us,  my  lord,"  said  the  queen — "  Mas- 
ter Philip  Sidney  is,  we  know,  a  minion  of  the  Muses, 
and  we  are  pleased  it  should  be  so.  Valour  never  shines 
to  more  advantage  than  when  united  with  the  true  taste 
and  love  of  letters.  But  surely  there  are  some  others 
among  our  young  courtiers  who  can  recollect  what  your 
lordship  has  forgotten  amid  weightier  affairs. — Master 


KENItWORTK. 


241 


Tressilian,  you  are  described  to  me  as  a  worshipper  of 
Minerva — remember  you  aught  of  these  lines  ?" 

Tressilian's  heart  was  too  heavy,  his  prospects  in  life 
too  fatally  blighted,  to  profit  by  the  opportunity  which  the 
queen  thus  offered  to  him  of  attracting  her  attention,  but 
he  determined  to  transfer  the  advantage  to  his  more  am- 
bitious young  friend  ;  and,  excusing  himself  on  the  score 
of  want  of  recollection,  he  added,  that  he  believed  the 
beautiful  verses,  of  which  my  Lord  of  Leicester  had 
spoken,  were  in  the  remembrance  of  Master  Walter 
Raleigh. 

At  the  command  of  the  queen,  that  cavalier  repeated, 
with  accent  and  manner  which  even  added  to  their  ex- 
quisite delicacy  of  tact  and  "beauty  of  description,  the 
celebrated  vision  of  Oberon. 

u  That  very  time  I  saw,  (but  thou  could'st  not,) 
Flying  between  the  cold  moon  and  the  earth, 
Cupid,  all  arm'd  ;  a  certain  aim  he  took 
At  a  fair  vestal,  throned  by  the  west ; 
And  loos'd  his  love-shaft  smartly  from  his  bow, 
As  it  should  pierce  a  hundred  thousand  hearts  : 
But  I  might  see  young  Cupiu's  fiery  shaft 
Quench'd  in  the  chaste  beams  of  the  wat'ry  moon  ; 
And  the  imperial  vot'ress  passed  on, 
In  maiden  meditation,  fancy  free.7; 

The  voice  of  Raleigh,  as  he  repeated  the  last  lines, 
became  a  little  tremulous,  as  if  diffident  how  the  sover- 
eign to  whom  the  homage  was  addressed  might  receive 
it,  exquisite  as  it  was.  If  this  diffidence  was  affected,  it 
was  good  policy  ;  but  if  real,  there  was  little  occasion  for 
it.  The  verses  were  not  probably  new  to  the  queen,  for 
when  was  ever  such  elegant  flattery  long  in  reaching  the 
royal  ear  to  which  it  was  addressed  ?  But  it  was  not  less 
welcome  when  repeated  by  such  a  speaker  as  Raleigh. 
Alike  delighted  with  the  matter,  the  manner,  and  the 
graceful  form  and  animated  countenance  of  the  gallant 
young  reciter,  Elizabeth  kept  time  to  every  cadence,  with 
look  and  with  finger.    When  the  speaker  bad  ceased,  she 

21      VOL.  I. 


242 


KENILWORTH. 


murmured  over  the  last  lines,  as  if  scarce  conscious  that 
she  was  overheard,  and  as  she  uttered  the  words, 

"  In  maiden  meditation,  fancy  free," 

she  dropt  into  the  Thames  the  supplication  of  Orson  Pin- 
net,  keeper  of  the  royal  bears,  to  find  more  favourable  ac- 
ceptance at  Sheerness,  or  wherever  the  tide  might  waft  it. 

Leicester  was  spurred  to  emulation  by  the  success  of 
the  young  courtier's  exhibition,  as  the  veteran  racer  is 
roused  when  a  high-mettled  colt  passes  him  on  the  way. 
He  turned  the  discourse  on  shows,  banquets,  pageants, 
and  on  the  character  of  those  by  whom  these  gay  scenes 
were  then  frequented.  He  mixed  acute  observation  with 
light  satire,  in  that  just  proportion  which  was  free  alike 
from  malignant  slander  and  insipid  praise.  He  mimicked 
with  ready  accent  the  manners  of  the  affected  or  the 
clownish,  and  made  his  own  graceful  tone  and  manner 
seem  doubly  such  when  he  resumed  it.  Foreign  coun- 
tries— their  customs — their  manners — the  rules  of  their 
courts — the  fashions,  and  even  the  dress  of  their  ladies, 
were  equally  his  theme  ;  and  seldom  did  he  conclude 
without  conveying  some  compliment,  always  couched  in 
delicacy,  and  expressed  with  propriety,  to  the  virgin 
queen,  her  court,  and  her  government.  Thus  passed  the 
conversation  during  this  pleasure  voyage,  seconded  by  the 
rest  of  the  attendants  upon  the  royal  person,  in  gay  dis- 
course, varied  by  remarks  upon  ancient  classics  and  mod- 
ern authors,  and  enriched  by  maxims  of  deep  policy  and 
sound  morality,  by  the  statesmen  and  sages  who  sat 
around,  and  mixed  wisdom  with  the  lighter  talk  of  a  fe- 
male court. 

When  they  returned  to  the  palace,  Elizabeth  accepted, 
or  rather  selected  the  arm  of  Leicester  to  support  her, 
from  the  stairs  where  they  landed,  to  the  great  gate.  It 
even  seemed  to  him,  (though  that  might  arise  from  the 
flattery  of  his  own  imagination,)  that  during  this  short 
passage,  she  leaned  on  him  somewhat  more  than  the  slip- 
piness  of  the  way  necessarily  demanded.  Certainly  her 
actions  and  words  combined  to  express  a  degree  of  favour, 


KENLL  WORTH . 


243 


which,  even  in  his  proudest  days,  he  had  not  till  then  at- 
tained. His  rival,  indeed,  was  repeatedly  graced  by  the 
queen's  notice  ;  but  it  was  in  a  manner  that  seemed  to 
flow  less  from  spontaneous  inclination,  than  as  extorted 
by  a  sense  of  his  merit.  And,  in  the  opinion  of  many 
experienced  courtiers,  all  the  favours  she  showed  him  was 
overbalanced,  by  her  whispering  in  the  ear  of  the  Lady 
Derby,  that  "  now  she  saw  sickness  was  a  better  alchemist 
than  she  before  wotted  of,  seeing  it  had  changed  my  Lord 
of  Sussex's  copper  nose  into  a  golden  one." 

The  jest  transpired,  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester  enjoyed 
his  triumph,  as  one  to  whom  court  favour  had  been  both 
the  primary  and  the  ultimate  motive  of  life,  while  he  for- 
got, in  the  intoxication  of  the  moment,  the  perplexities 
and  dangers  of  his  own  situation.  Indeed,  strange  as  it 
may  appear,  he  thought  less  at  that  moment  of  the  perils 
arising  from  his  secret  union,  than  of  the  marks  of  grace 
which  Elizabeth  from  time  to  time  showed  to  young  Ra- 
leigh. They  were  indeed  transient,  but  they  were  con- 
ferred on  one  accomplished  in  mind  and  body,  with  grace, 
gallantry,  literature  and  valour.  An  accident  occurred 
in  the  course  of  the  evening  which  rivetted  Leicester's 
attention  to  this  object. 

The  nobles  and  courtiers  who  had  attended  the  queen 
on  her  pleasure  expedition,  were  invited,  with  royal  hos- 
pitality, to  a  splendid  banquet  in  the  hall  of  the  palace. 
The  table  was  not,  indeed,  graced  by  the  presence  of  the 
sovereign  ;  for  agreeable  to  her  idea  of  what  was  at  once 
modest  and  dignified,  the  maiden  queen,  on  such  occa- 
sions, was  wont  to  take  in  private,  or  with  one  or  two 
favourite  ladies,  her  light  and  temperate  meal.  After  a 
moderate  interval,  the  court  again  met  in  the  splendid 
gardens  of  the  palace  ;  and  it  was  while  thus  engaged, 
that  the  queen  suddenly  asked  a  lady  who  was  near  to  her 
both  in  place  and  favour,  what  had  become  of  the  young 
Squire  Lack-Cloak. 

The  Lady  Paget  answered,  "  she  had  seen  Master 
Raleigh  but  two  or  three  minutes  since,  standing  at  the 
window  of  a  small  pavilion,  or  pleasure  house,  which 


244 


KENILWORTH. 


looked  out  on  the  Thames,  and  writing  on  the  glass  with 
a  diamond  ring." 

"  That  ring,"  said  the  queen,  "  was  a  small  token  I 
gave  him  to  make  amends  for  his  spoiled  mantle.  Come, 
Paget,  let  us  see  what  use  he  has  made  of  it,  for  I  can 
see  through  him  already.  He  is  a  marvellously  sharp- 
witted  spirit." 

They  went  to  the  spot,  within  sight  of  which,  but  at 
some  distance,  the  young  cavailer  still  lingered,  as  the 
fowler  watches  the  net  which  he  has  set.  The  queen 
approached  the  window,  on  which  Raleigh  had  used  her 
gift,  to  inscribe  the  following  line  : — 

u  Fain  would  I  climb,  but  that  I  fear  to  fall." 

The  queen  smiled,  read  it  twice  over,  once  with  delib- 
eration to  Lady  Paget,  and  once  again  to  herself.  "  It  is 
a  pretty  beginning,"  she  said,  after  the  consideration  of  a 
moment  or  two  ;  "  but  methinks  the  muse  hath  deserted 
the  young  wit,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  task.  It  were 
good-natured — were  it  not,  Lady  Paget, — to  complete  it 
for  him  ?  Try  your  rhyming  faculties." 

Lady  Paget,  prosaic  from  her  cradle  upwards,  as  ever 
any  lady  of  the  bed-chamber  before  or  after  her,  dis- 
claimed all  possibility  of  assisting  the  young  poet. 

"  Nay,  then,  we  must  sacrifice  to  the  Muses  ourselves," 
said  Elizabeth. 

"  The  incense  of  no  one  can  be  more  acceptable," 
said  Lady  Paget  ;  "  and  your  highness  will  impose  such 
obligation  on  the  ladies  of  Parnassus"  

"  Hush,  Paget,"  said  the  queen,  "  you  speak  sacrilege 
against  the  immortal  Nine — yet  virgins  themselves,  they 
should  be  exorable  to  a  virgin  queen,  and,  therefore,  let 
me  see  how  runs  his  verse — 

'  Fain  would  I  climb,  but  that  1  fear  to  fall/ 

Might  not  the  answer,  (for  fault  of  a  better)  run  thus  : 

If  thy  mind  fail  thee,  do  not  climb  at  all." 

The  dame  of  honour  uttered  an  exclamation  of  joy 
and  surprise  at  so  happy  a  termination  ;  and  certainly  a 


KENILWOHTH. 


245 


worse  has  been  applauded,  even  when  coming  from  a  less 
distinguished  author. 

The  queen  thus  encouraged,  took  off  a  diamond  ring, 
and  saying,  "  We  will  give  this  gallant  some  cause  of 
marvel,  when  he  finds  his  couplet  perfected  without  his 
own  interference,"  she  wrote  her  own  line  beneath  that 
of  Raleigh. 

The  queen  left  the  pavilion — but  retiring  slowly,  and 
often  looking  back,  she  could  see  the  young  cavalier  steal, 
with  the  flight  of  a  lapwing,  towards  the  place  where  he 
had  seen  her  make  a  pause  ; — "  She  staid  but  to  ob- 
serve," as  she  said,  "  that  her  train  had  taken  ;"  and  then, 
laughing  at  the  circumstance  with  the  Lady  Paget,  she 
took  the  way  slowly  towards  the  palace.  Elizabeth,  as 
they  returned,  cautioned  her  companion  not  to  mention  to 
any  one  the  aid  which  she  had  given  to  the  young  poet — 
and  Lady  Paget  promised  scrupulous  secrecy.  It  is  to 
be  supposed,  that  she  made  a  mental  reservation  in  fa- 
vour of  Leicester,  to  whom  her  ladyship  transmitted 
without  delay  an  anecdote,  so  little  calculated  to  give  him 
pleasure. 

Raleigh,  in  the  meanwhile,  stole  back  to  the  window, 
and  read,  with  a  feeling  of  intoxication,  the  encourage- 
ment thus  given  him  by  the  queen  in  person  to  follow  out 
his  ambitious  career,  and  returned  to  Sussex  and  his  ret- 
inue, then  on  the  point  of  embarking  to  go  up  the  river, 
his  heart  beating  high  with  gratified  pride,  and  with  hope 
of  future  distinction. 

The  reverence  due  to  the  person  of  the  earl  prevented 
any  notice  being  taken  of  the  reception  he  had  met  with 
at  court,  until  they  had  landed,  and  the  household  wTere 
assembled  in  the  great  hall  at  Say's  Court  ;  while  that 
lord,  exhausted  by  his  late  illness,  and  the  fatigues  of  the 
day,  had  retired  to  his  chamber,  demanded  the  attendance 
of  Wayland,  his  successful  physician.  Wayland,  how- 
ever, was  no  where  to  be  found  ;  and,  while  some  of  the 
party  were,  with  military  impatience,  seeking  him,  and 
21*     VOL.  I. 


246 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


cursing  his  absence,  the  rest  flocked  around  Raleigh,  to 
congratulate  him  on  his  prospects  of  court  favour. 

He  had  the  good  taste  and  judgment  to  conceal  the 
decisive  circumstance  of  the  couplet,  to  which  Elizabeth 
had  deigned  to  find  a  rhyme  ;  but  other  circumstances 
had  transpired,  which  plainly  intimated  that  he  had  made 
some  progress  in  the  queen's  favour.  All  hastened  to 
wish  him  joy  on  the  mended  appearance  of  his  fortune  : 
some  from  real  regard  ;  some,  perhaps,  from  hopes  that 
his  preferment  might  hasten  their  own  ;  and  most  from  a 
mixture  of  these  motives,  and  a  sense  that  the  counte- 
nance shown  to  any  one  of  Sussex's  household,  was,  in 
fact,  a  triumph  to  the  whole.  Raleigh  returned  the  kind- 
est thanks  to  them  all,  disowning,  with  becoming  modesty, 
that  one  day's  fair  reception  made  a  favourite,  any  more 
than  one  swallow  a  summer.  But  he  observed  that  Blount 
did  not  join  in  the  general  congratulation,  and,  somewhat 
hurt  at  his  apparent  unkindness,  he  plainly  asked  him 
the  reason. 

Blount  replied  with  equal  sincerity — "  Good  Walter, 
I  wish  thee  as  well  as  do  any  of  those  chattering  gulls, 
who  are  whistling  and  whooping  gratulations  in  thine  ear, 
because  it  seems  fair  weather  with  thee.  But  I  fear  for 
thee,  Walter,  (and  he  wiped  his  honest  eye,)  I  fear  for 
thee  with  all  my  heart.  These  court-tricks,  and  gambols, 
and  flashes  of  fine  women's  favour,  are  the  tricks  and 
trinkets  that  bring  fair  fortunes  to  farthings,  and  fine  faces 
and  witty  coxcombs  to  the  acquaintance  of  dull  blocks 
and  sharp  axes." 

So  saying,  Blount  arose  and  left  the  hall,  while  Ra- 
leigh looked  after  him  with  an  expression  that  blanked  for 
a  moment  his  bold  and  animated  countenance. 

Stanley  just  then  entered  the  hall,  and  said  to  Tressil- 
ian,  "  My  lord  is  calling  for  your  fellow  Wayland,  and 
your  fellow  Wayland  is  just  come  hither  in  a  sculler,  and 
is  calling  for  you,  nor  will  he  go  to  my  lord  till  he  sees 
you.  The  fellow  looks  as  he  were  mazed,  methinks— I 
would  you  would  see  him  immediately*" 


KENIXW01&TII. 


247 


Tressilian  instantly  left  the  hall,  and  causing  Wayland 
Smith  to  be  shown  into  a  withdrawing  apartment,  and 
lights  placed,  he  conducted  the  artist  thither,  and  was  sur- 
prised when  he  observed  the  emotion  of  his  countenance. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Smith  ?"  said  Tressil- 
ian ;  "  have  you  seen  the  devil  ?" 

"  Worse,  sir,  worse,"  replied  Wayland,  "  I  have  seen 
a  basilisk. — Thank  God,  I  saw  him  first,  for  being  so  seen, 
and  seeing  not  me,  he  will  do  the  less  harm." 

"  In  God's  name,  speak  sense,"  said  Tressilian,  "  and 
say  what  you  mean." 

"  I  have  seen  my  old  master,"  said  the  artist — "  Last 
night,  a  friend,  whom  I  had  acquired,  took  me  to  see  the 
palace  clock,  judging  me  to  be  curious  in  such  works  of 
art.  At  the  window  of  a  turret  next  to  the  clock-house 
I  saw  my  old  master." 

"  Thou  must  have  needs  been  mistaken,"  said  Tres- 
silian. 

"  I  was  not  mistaken,"  said  Wayland — "  He  that  once 
hath  his  features  by  heart  would  know  him  amongst  a 
million.  He  was  anticly  habited  ;  but  he  cannot  disguise 
himself  from  me,  God  be  praised,  as  I  can  from  him.  I 
will  not,  however,  tempt  Providence  by  remaining  within 
his  ken.  Tarleton  the  player  himself  could  not  so  dis- 
guise himself,  but  that,  sooner  or  later,  Doboobie  would 
find  him  out.  I  must  away  to-morrow ;  for,  as  we  stand 
together,  it  were  death  to  me  to  remain  within  reach  of 
him." 

"  But  the  Earl  of  Sussex  ?"  said  Tressilian. 

"  He  is  in  little  danger  from  what  he  has  hitherto  taken, 
providing  he  swallow  the  matter  of  a  bean's  size  of  the 
Orvietan,  every  morning  fasting — but  let  him  beware  of 
a  relapse." 

"  And  how  is  that  to  be  guarded  against  ?"  said  Tres- 
silian. 

"  Only  by  such  caution  as  you  would  use  against  the 
devil,"  answered  Wayland.  "  Let  my  lord's  clerk  of  the 
kitchen  kill  his  lord's  meat  himself,  and  dress  it  himself, 
using  no  spice  but  what  he  procures  from  the  surest  hands 


248 


KENILWORTH. 


— Let  the  sewer  serve  it  up  himself,  and  let  the  master 
of  my  lord's  household  see  that  both  clerk  and  sewer 
taste  the  dishes  which  the  one  dresses  and  the  other  serves. 
Let  myiord  use  no  perfumes  which  come  not  from  well 
accredited  persons  ;  no  unguents — no  pomades.  Let 
him,  on  no  account,  drink  with  strangers,  or  eat  fruit  with 
them,  either  in  the  way  of  nooning  or  otherwise.  Es- 
pecially, let  him  observe  such  caution,  if  he  goes  to  Ken- 
ilworth — the  excuse  of  his  illness,  and  his  being  under 
diet,  will,  and  must,  cover  the  strangeness  of  such 
practice." 

"  And  thou,"  said  Tressilian,  "  what  dost  thou  think 
to  make  pf  thyself  ?" 

"  France,  Spain,  either  India,  East  or  West,  shall  be 
my  refuge,"  said  Wayland,  "  ere  I  venture  my  life  by 
residing  within  ken  of  Doboobie,  Demetrius,  or  whatever 
else  he 'calls  himself  for  the  time." 

"  Well,"  said  Tressilian,  "  this  happens  not  inoppor- 
tunely— I  had  business  for  you  in  Berkshire,  but  in  the 
opposite  extremity  to  the  place  where  thou  art  known  ; 
and  ere  thou  hadst  found  out  this  new  reason  for  living 
private,  I  had  settled  to  send  thee  thither  upon  a  secret 
embassage." 

The  artist  expressed  himself  willing  to  receive  his  com- 
mands, and  Tressilian,  knowing  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  outline  of  his  business  at  court,  frankly  explain- 
ed to  him  the  whole,  mentioned  the  agreement  which  sub- 
sisted betwixt  Giles  Gosling  and  him,  and  told  what  had 
that  day  been  averred  in  the  presence-chamber  by  Var- 
ney,  and  supported  by  Leicester. 

"  Thou  seest,"  he  added,  "  that,  in  the  circumstances 
in  which  I  am  placed,  it  behooves  me  to  keep  a  narrow 
watch  on  the  motions  of  these  unprincipled  men.  Var~ 
ney  and  his  complices,  Foster  and  Lambourne,  as  well 
as  on  those  of  my  Lord  Leicester  himself,  who,  I  sus- 
pect, is  partly  a  deceiver,  and  not  altogether  the  deceiv- 
ed in  that  matter.  Here  is  my  ring,  as  a  pledge  to  Giles 
Gosling — here  is  besides  gold,  which  shall  be  trebled  if 


KENILWORTH. 


249 


thou  serve  me  faithfully.  Away  down  to  Cumnor,  and 
see  what  happens  there." 

"  I  go  with  double  good  will,"  said  the  artist,  "  first, 
because  I  serve  your  honour,  who  has  been  so  kind  to  me, 
and  then  that  I  may  escape  my  old  master,  who,  if  not 
an  absolute  incarnation  of  the  devil,  has,  at  least,  as  much 
of  the  daemon  about  him,  in  will,  word,  and  action,  as 
ever  polluted  humanity. — And  yet  let  him  take  care  of 
me,  I  fly  him  now,  as  heretofore  ;  but  if,  like  the  Scotch 
wild  cattle,  I  am  vexed  by  frequent  pursuit,  I  may  turn 
on  him  in  hate  and  desperation. — Will  your  honour  com- 
mand my  nag  to  be  saddled  ?  I  will  but  give  the  medicine 
to  my  lord,  divided  in  its  proper  proportions,  with  a  few 
instructions.  His  safety  will  then  depend  on  the  care  of 
his  friends  and  domestics — for  the  past  he  is  guarded,  but 
let  him  beware  of  the  future." 

Wayland  Smith  accordingly  made  his  farewell  visit  to 
the  Earl  of  Sussex,  dictated  instructions  as  to  his  regimen, 
and  precautions  concerning  his  diet,  and  left  Say's  Court 
without  waiting  for  morning. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

 The  moment  comes — 

It  is  already  come — when  thou  must  write 
The  abolute  total  of  thy  life's  vast  sum. 
The  constellations  stand  victorious  o'er  thee, 
The  planets  shoot  good  fortune  in  fair  junctions, 
And  tell  thee, '  Now's  the  time/ 

Schiller's  Wallenstein,  by  Coleridge. 

When  Leicester  returned  to  his  lodging,  after  a  day  so 
important  and  so  harassing,  in  which  after  riding  out  more 
than  one  gale,  and  touching  on  more  than  one  shoal,  his 
bark  had  finally  gained  the  harbour  with  banner  display- 
ed, he  seemed  to  experience  as  much  fatigue  as  a  mariner 


250 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


after  a  perilous  storm.  He  spoke  not  a  word  while  his 
chamberlain  exchanged  his  rich  court-mantle  for  a  furred 
night-robe,  and  when  this  officer  signified  that  Master 
Varney  desired  to  speak  with  his  lordship,  he  replied 
only  by  a  sullen  nod.  Varney,  however,  entered,  accept- 
ing this  signal  as  a  permission,  and  the  chamberlain  with- 
drew. 

The  earl  remained  silent  and  almost  motionless  in  his 
chair,  his  head  reclined  on  his  hand,  and  his  elbow  rest- 
ing upon  the  table  which  stood  beside  him,  without  seem- 
ing to  be  conscious  of  the  entrance,  or  of  the  presence 
of  his  confidant.  Varney  waited  for  some  minutes  until 
he  should  speak,  desirous  to  know  what  was  finally  the 
predominant  mood  of  a  mind,  through  which  so  many 
powerful  emotions  had  that  day  taken  their  course.  But 
he  waited  in  vain,  for  Leicester  continued  still  silent,  and 
the  confidant  saw  himself  under  the  necessity  of  being  the 
first  to  speak.  "  May  I  congratulate  your  lordship,"  he 
said,  "  on  the  deserved  superiority  you  have  this  day  at- 
tained over  your  most  formidable  rival  ?" 

Leicester  raised  his  head,  and  answered  sadly,  but 
without  anger,  "  Thou,  Varney,  whose  ready  invention 
has  involved  me  in  a  web  of  most  mean  and  perilous  false- 
hood, knowest  best  what  reason  there  is  for  gratulation  on 
the  subject." 

"  Do  you  blame  me,  my  lord,"  said  Varney,  "  for  not 
betraying,  on  the  first  push,  the  secret  on  which  your  for- 
tunes depended,  and  which  you  have  so  oft  and  so  earn- 
estly recommended  to  my  safe  keeping  ?  Your  lordship 
was  present  in  person,  and  might  have  contradicted  me 
and  ruined  yourself  by  an  avowal  of  the  truth  ;  but  surely 
it  was  no  part  of  a  faithful  servant  to  have  done  so  with- 
out your  commands." 

"  I  cannot  deny  it,  Varney,"  said  the  earl,  rising  and 
walking  across  the  room  ;  "  my  own  ambition  has  been 
traitor  to  my  love." 

"  Say  rather,  my  lord,  that  your  love  has  been  traitor 
to  your  greatness,  and  barred  you  from  such  a  prospect 
of  honour  and  power  as  the  world  cannot  offer  to  any 


KETNTLWORTH. 


251 


other.  To  make  my  honourable  lady  a  countess,  you  have 
missed  the  chance  of  being  yourself"-- — 

He  paused  and  seemed  unwilling  to  complete  the  sen- 
tence. 

"  Of  being  myself  what  ?"  demanded  Leicester  ; 
"  speak  out  thy  meaning,  Varney." 

"  Of  being  yourself  a  KING,  my  lord,"  replied  Var- 
ney ;  "  and  King  of  England  to  boot  ; — It  is  no  treason 
to  our  queen  to  say  so.  It  would  have  chanced  by  her 
obtaining  that  which  all  true  subjects  wish  her — a  lusty, 
noble,  and  gallant  husband." 

"  Thou  ravest,  Varney,"  answered  Leicester.  "  Be- 
sides, our  times  have  seen  enough  to  make  men  loathe 
the  crown  matrimonial  which  men  take  from  their  waves' 
lap.    There  was  Darnley  in  Scotland." 

"  He  !"  said  Varney  ;  "  a  gull,  a  fool,  a  thrice  sodden 
ass,  who  suffered  himself  to  be  fired  off  into  the  air  like 
a  rocket  on  a  rejoicing  day.  Had  Mary  had  the  hap  to 
have  wedded  the  noble  earl,  once  destined  to  share  her 
throne,  she  had  experienced  a  husband  of  different  metal ; 
and  her  husband  had  found  in  her  a  wife  as  complying 
and  loving  as  the  mate  of  the  meanest  squire,  who  follows 
the  hounds  a  horseback,  and  holds  her  husband's  bridle 
as  he  mounts." 

"  It  might  have  been  as  thou  say'st,  Varney,"  said 
Leicester,  a  brief  smile  of  self  satisfaction  passing  over 
his  anxious  countenance.  "  Henry  Darnley  knew  little  of 
women — with  Mary,  a  man  who  knew  her  sex  might  have 
had  some  chance  of  holding  his  own.  But  not  with  Eliz- 
abeth, Varney — for  I  think  God,  w7hen  he  gave  her  the 
heart  of  a  woman,  gave  her  the  head  of  a  man  to  control 
its  follies. — No,  I  know  her. — She  will  accept  love- 
tokens,  ay,  and  requite  them  with  the  like — put  sugared 
sonnets  in  her  bosom — ay,  and  answer  them  too — push 
gallantry  to  the  very  verge  where  it  becomes  exchange  of 
affection — but  she  writes  nil  ultra  to  all  which  is  to  follows 
and  would  not  barter  one  iota  of  her  own  supreme  power 
for  all  the  alphabet  of  both  Cupid  and  Hymen." 


252 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


"  The  better  for  you,  my  lord,"  said  Varney,  "  that 
is,  in  the  case  supposed,  if  such  be  her  disposition  ;  since 
you  think  you  cannot  aspire  to  become  her  husband. 
Her  favourite  you  are,  and  may  remain,  if  the  lady  at 
Cumnor-Place  remains  in  her  present  obscurity." 

<<  Poor  Amy  !"  said  Leicester,  with  a  deep  sigh  y  "  she 
desires  so  earnestly  to  be  acknowledged  in  presence  of 
God  and  man  !" 

"  Ay,  but  my  lord,"  said  Varney,  "  is  her  desire  rea- 
sonable ? — that  is  the  question. — Her  religious  scruples 
are  solved — she  is  an  honoured  and  beloved  wife — en- 
joying the  society  of  her  husband  at  such  times  as  his 
weightier  duties  permit  him  to  afford  her,  his  company — 
What  would  she  more  ?  I  am  right  sure  that  a  lady  so 
gentle  and  so  loving  would  consent  to  live  her  life  through 
in  a  certain  obscurity — which  is,  after  all,  not  dimmer 
than  when  she  was  at  Lidcote-hall — rather  than  diminish 
the  least  jot  of  her  lord's  honours  and  greatness  by  a 
premature  attempt  to  share  them." 

"  There  is  something  in  what  thou  say'st,"  said  Leices- 
ter ;  "  and  her  appearance  here  were  fatal — yet  she 
must  be  seen  at  Kenilworth,  Elizabeth  will  not  forget  that 
she  has  so  appointed." 

"  Let  me  sleep  on  that  hard  point,"  said  Varney  ;  "  I 
cannot  else  perfect  the  device  I  have  on  the  stithy,  which 
I  trust  will  satisfy  the  queen  and  please  my  honoured 
lady,  yet  leave  this  fatal  secret  where  it  is  now  buried. 
— Has  your  lordship  further  commands  for  the  night  ?" 

"  I  would  be  alone,"  said  Leicester.  "  Leave  me, 
and  place  my  steel  casket  on  the  table. — Be  within 
summons." 

Varney  retired — and  the  earl,  opening  the  window  of 
his  apartment,  looked  out  long  and  anxiously  upon  the 
brilliant  host  of  stars  which  glimmered  in  the  brilliance 
of  a  summer  firmament.  The  words  burst  from  him  as 
at  unawTares — "  I  had  never  more  need  that  the  heavenly 
bodies  should  befriend  me,  for  my  earthly  path  is  dark- 
ened and  confused." 


KENII.  WORTH. 


253 


It  is  well  known  that  the  age  reposed  a  deep  confidence 
in  the  vain  predictions  of  judicial  astrology,  and  Leices- 
ter, though  exempt  from  the  general  control  of  supersti- 
tion, was  not  in  this  respect  superior  to  his  time  ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  was  remarkable  for  the  encouragement  which 
he  gave  to  the  professors  of  this  pretended  science.  In- 
deed, the  wish  to  pry  into  futurity,  so  general  among  the 
human  race  of  every  description,  is  peculiarly  to  be  found 
amongst  those  who  trade  in  state  mysteries,  and  the  dan- 
gerous intrigues  and  cabals  of  courts.  With  heedful  pre- 
caution to  see  that  it  had  not  been  opened,  or  its  locks 
tampered  with,  Leicester  applied  a  key  to  the  steel  casket, 
and  drew  from  it,  first,  a  parcel  of  gold  pieces,  which  he 
put  into  a  silk  purse  ;  then  a  parchment  inscribed  with 
planetary  signs,  and  the  lines  and  calculations  used  in 
framing  horoscopes,  on  which  he  gazed  intently  for  a  few 
moments  ;  and  lastly,  took  forth  a  large  key,  which,  lift- 
ing aside  the  tapestry,  he  applied  to  a  little  concealed 
door  in  the  corner  of  the  apartment,  and,  opening  it,  dis- 
closed a  stair  constructed  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall. 

"  Alasco,"  said  the  earl,  with  a  voice  raised,  yet  no 
higher  raised  than  to  be  heard  by  the  inhabitant  of  the 
small  turret  to  which  the  stair  conducted — "  Alasco,  I 
say,  descend." 

"  1  come,  my  lord,"  answered  a  voice  from  above. 
The  foot  of  an  aged  man  was  heard,  slowly  descending 
the  narrow  stair,  and  Alasco  entered  the  earl's  apartment, 
The  astrologer  was  a  little  man,  and  seemed  much  ad- 
vanced in  age,  for  his  beard  was  long  and  white,  and 
reached  over  his  black  doublet  down  to  his  silken  girdle. 
His  hair  was  of  the  same  venerable  hue.  But  his  eye- 
brows were  as  dark  as  the  keen  and  piercing  black  eyes 
which  they  shaded,  and  this  peculiarity  gave  a  wild  and 
singular  cast  to  the  physiognomy  of  the  old  man.  His 
cheek  was  still  fresh  and  ruddy,  and  the  eyes  we  have 
mentioned  resembled  those  of  a  rat,  in  acuteness,  and 
even  fierceness  of  expression.  His  manner  was  not  with- 
out a  sort  of  dignity  ;  and  the  interpreter  of  the  stars, 
22    vol.  i. 


254 


KE  NIL  WORTH . 


though  respectful,  seemed  altogether  at  his  ease,  and  even 
assumed  a  tone  of  instruction  and  command,  in  convers- 
ing with  the  prime  favourite  of  Elizabeth. 

"  Your  prognostications  have  failed,  Alasco,"  said  the 
earl,  when  they  had  exchanged  salutations — "  He  is  re- 
covering." 

"  My  son,"  replied  the  astrologer,  "  let  me  remind  you, 
4*  I  warranted  not  his  death — nor  is  there  any  prognostica- 
tion that  can  be  derived  from  the  heavenly  bodies,  their 
aspects  and  their  conjunctions,  which  is  not  liable  to  be 
controlled  by  the  will  of  heaven.  Astra  regunt  homines, 
sed  regit  astra  Deus" 

"  Of  what  avail,  then,  is  your  mystery  ?"  replied  the 
earl. 

"  Of  much,  my  son,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  since  it 
can  show  the  natural  and  probable  course  of  events,  al- 
though that  course  moves  in  subordination  to  a  higher 
power.  Thus,  in  reviewing  the  horoscope  which  your 
lordship  subjected  to  my  skill,  you  will  observe  that  Saturn, 
being  in  the  sixth  House  in  opposition  to  Mars,  retrograde 
in  the  House  of  Life,  cannot  but  denote  long  and  dan- 
gerous sickness,  the  issue  whereof  is  in  the  will  of  heaven, 
though  death  may  probably  be  inferred — Yet  if  I  knew 
the  name  of  the  party,  I  would  erect  another  scheme." 

"  His  name  is  a  secret,"  said  the  earl  ;  "  yet,  I  must 
own,  thy  prognostication  hath  not  been  unfaithful.  He 
has  been  sick,  and  dangerously  so,  not  however  to  death. 
But  hast  thou  again  cast  my  horoscope  as  Varney  direct- 
ed thee,  and  art  thou  prepared  to  say  what  the  stars  tell 
of  my  present  fortune  ?" 

"  My  art  stands  at  your  command,"  said  the  old  man  ; 
"  and  here,  my  son,  is  the  map  of  thy  fortunes,  brilliant 
in  aspect  as  ever  beamed  from  those  blessed  signs  where- 
by our  life  is  influenced,  yet  not  unchequered  with  fears, 
difficulties  and  dangers." 

"  My  lot  were  more  than  mortal  were  it  otherwise," 
said  the  earl  ;  "  proceed  farther,  and  believe  you  speak 
with  one  ready  to  undergo  his  destiny  in  action  and  in 
passion,  as  may  beseem  a  noble  of  England." 


KENILW0RT1I. 


255 


u  Thy  courage  to  do  and  to  suffer,  must  be  wound  up 
yet  a  strain  higher,"  said  the  old  man.  "  The  stars  inti- 
mate yet  a  prouder  title,  yet  a  higher  rank.  It  is  for 
thee  to  guess  their  meaning,  not  for  me  to  name  it." 

"  Name  it,  I  conjure  you — name  it,  I  command  you," 
said  the  earl,  his  eyes  brightening  as  he  spoke. 

"  I  may  not,  and  I  will  not,"  replied  the  old  man. 
"  The  ire  of  princes  is  as  the  wrath  of  the  lion.  But 
mark,  and  judge  for  thyself.  Here  Venus  ascendant  in 
the  House  of  Life,  and  conjoined  with  Sol,  showers  down 
that  flood  of  silver  light,  blent  with  gold,  which  promises 
power,  wealth,  dignity,  all  that  the  proud  heart  of  man 
desires,  and  in  such  abundance,  that  never  the  future 
Augustus  of  that  old  and  mighty  Rome  heard  from  his 
Haruspices  such  a  tale  of  glory,  as  from  this  rich  text  my 
lore  might  read  to  my  favourite  son." 

"  Thou  dost  but  jest  with  me,  father,"  said  the  earl, 
astonished  at  the  strain  of  enthusiasm  in  which  the  astrol- 
oger delivered  his  prediction. 

"  Is  it  for  him  to  jest  who  hath  his  eye  on  heaven,  who 
hath  his  foot  on  the  grave  ?"  returned  the  old  man  sol- 
emnly. 

The  earl  made  two  or  three  strides  through  the  apart- 
ment, with  his  hand  outstretched,  as  one  who  follows  the 
beckoning  signal  of  some  phantom,  waving  him  on  to 
deeds  of  high  import.  As  he  turned,  however,  he  caught 
the  eye  of  the  astrologer  fixed  on  him,  while  an  observ- 
ing glance  of  the  most  shrewd  penetration  shot  from  un- 
der the  penthouse  of  his  shaggy  dark  eye  brows.  Leices- 
ter's haughty  and  suspicious  soul  at  once  caught  fire  ; 
he  darted  towards  the  old  man  from  the  further  end  of 
the  lofty  apartment,  only  standing  still  when  his  extended 
hand  was  within  a  foot  of  the  astrologer's  body. 

"  Wretch  !"  he  said,  "  if  you  dare  to  palter  with  me, 
1  will  have  your  skin  stripped  from  your  living  flesh  ! — 
Confess  thou  hast  been  hired  to  deceive  and  to  betray  me 
— that  thou  art  a  cheat,  and  I  thy  silly  prey  and  booty  !" 


2o6 


KCJSIL  WORTH. 


The  old  man  exhibited  some  symptoms  of  emotion, 
but  not  more  than  the  furious  deportment  of  his  patron 
might  have  extorted  from  innocence  itself. 

"  What  means  this  violence,  my  lord  ?"  he  answered, 
"  or  in  what  can  I  have  deserved  it  at  your  hand  ?" 

"  Give  me  proof,"  said  the  earl,  vehemently,  "  that 
you  have  not  tampered  with  mine  enemies." 

"  My  lord,"  replied  the  old  man,  with  dignity,  "  you 
can  have  no  better  proof  than  that  which  you  yourself 
elected.  In  that  turret  I  have  spent  the  last  twenty-four 
hours,  under  the  key  which  has  been  in  your  own  custo- 
dy. The  hours  of  darkness  I  have  spent  in  gazing  on 
the  heavenly  bodies  with  these  dim  eyes,  and  during  those 
of  light  I  have  toiled  this  aged  brain  to  complete  the 
calculation  arising  from  their  combinations.  Earthly  food 
I  have  not  tasted — earthly  voice  I  have  not  heard — You 
are  yourself  aware  I  had  no  means  of  doing  so — and  yet 
I  tell  you — I  who  have  been  thus  shut  up  in  solitude  and 
study — that  within  these  twenty-four  hours  your  star  has  * 
become  predominant  in  the  horizon,  and  either  the  bright 
book  of  heaven  speaks  false,  or  there  must  have  been  a 
proportionate  revolution  in  your  fortunes  upon  earth.  If 
nothing  has  happened  within  that  space  to  secure  your 
power,  or  advance  your  favour,  then  am  I  indeed  a  cheat, 
and  the  divine  art  which  was  first  devised  in  the  plains  of 
Chaidaea,  is  a  foul  imposture." 

"  It  is  true,"  said  Leicester,  after  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion, "  thou  wert  closely  immured — and  it  is  also  true 
that  the  change  has  taken  place  in  my  situation  which 
thou  sayest  the  horoscope  indicates." 

"  Wherefore  this  distrust  then,  my  son,"  said  the  as- 
trologer, assuming  a  tone  of  admonition  ;  "  the  celestial 
intelligences  brook  not  diffidence,  even  in  their  favourites." 

"  Peace,  father,"  answered  Leicester,  "  I  erred. 
Not  to  mortal  man,  nor  to  celestial  intelligence — under 
that  which  is  supreme — will  Dudley's  lips  say  more  in 
condescension  or  apology.  Speak  rather  to  the  present 
purpose — Amid  these  bright  promises  thou  hast  said  there 


KE  NIL  WORTH* 


257 


was  a  threatening  aspect — Can  thy  skill  tell  whence,  or 
by  whose  means  such  danger  seems  to  impend  ?" 

"  Thus  far  only,"  answered  the  astrologer,  "  does  my 
art  enable  me  to  answer  your  query.  The  infortune  is 
threatened  by  the  malignant  and  adverse  aspect,  through 
means  of  a  youth, — and,  as  I  think,  a  rival ;  but  whether 
in  love  or  in  prince's  favour,  I  know  not ;  nor  can  I  give 
farther  indication  respecting  him,  save  that  he  comes  from 
the  western  quarter." 

"  The  western — ha  !"  replied  Leicester,  "  it  is  enough 
— the  tempest  does  indeed  brew  in  that  quarter  ! — Corn- 
wall and  Devon — Raleigh  and  Tressilian — one  of  them 
is  indicated — I  must  beware  of  both. — Father,  if  I  have 
done  thy  skill  injustice,  I  will  make  thee  a  lordly  recom- 
pense." 

He  took  a  purse  of  gold  from  the  strong  casket  which 
stood  before  him — "  Have  thou  double  the  recompense 
which  Varney  promised. — Be  faithful— be  secret — obey 
the  directions  thou  shalt  receive  from  my  master  of  the 
horse,  and  grudge  not  a  little  seclusion  or  restraint  in  my 
cause — it  shall  be  richly  considered. — Here,  Varney — 
conduct  this  venerable  man  to  thine  own  lodging — tend 
him  needfully  in  all  things,  but  see  that  he  holds  commu- 
nication with  no  one." 

Varney  bowed,  and  the  astrologer  kissed  the  earl's 
hand  in  token  of  adieu,  and  followed  the  master  of  the 
horse  to  another  apartment,  in  which  were  placed  wine 
and  refreshments  for  his  use. 

The  astrologer  sat  down  to  his  repast,  while  Varney 
shut  two  doors  with  great  precaution,  examined  the  tapes- 
try, lest  any  listener  lurked  behind  it  ;  and  then  sitting 
down  opposite  to  the  sage,  began  to  question  him. 

"  Saw  you  my  signal  from  the  court  beneath  ?" 

"  I  did,"  said  Alasco,  for  by  such  name  he  was  at 
present  called,  "  and  shaped  the  horoscope  accordingly." 

"  And  it  passed  upon  the  patron  without  challenge  ?" 
continued  Varney. 

"  Not  without  challenge,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  but 
22*    vol.  i. 


258 


KENI1W0RTH- 


it  did  pass  j  and  I  added,  as  before  agreed,  danger  from 
a  discovered  secret,  and  a  western  youth." 

"  My  lord's  fear  will  stand  sponsor  to  the  one,  and  his 
conscience  to  the  other,  of  these  prognostications,"  re- 
plied Varney.  "  Sure  never  man  chose  to  run  such  a 
race  as  his,  yet  continued  to  retain  those  silly  scruples! 
I  am  fain  to  cheat  him  to  his  own  profit.  But  touching 
your  matters,  sage  interpreter  of  the  stars,  I  can  tell  you 
more  of  your  own  fortune  than  plan  or  figure  can  show. 
You  must  begone  from  hence  forthwith." 

"  I  will  not,"  said  Alasco,  peevishly.  "  I  have  been 
too  much  hurried  up  and  down  of  late — immured  for  day 
and  night  in  a  desolate  turret-chamber — I  must  enjoy  my 
liberty,  and  pursue  my  studies,  which  are  of  more  import 
than  the  fate  of  fifty  statesmen,  and  favourites,  that  rise 
and  burst  like  bubbles  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  court." 

"  At  your  pleasure,"  said  Varney,  with  a  sneer  that 
habit  had  rendered  familiar  to  his  features,  and  which 
forms  the  principal  characteristic  which  painters  have 
assigned  to  that  of  Satan — "  At  your  pleasure,"  he  said, 
"  you  may  enjoy  your  liberty,  and  your  studies,  until  the 
daggers  of  Sussex's  followers  are  clashing  within  your 
doublet,  and  against  your  ribs."  The  old  man  turned 
pale,  and  Varney  proceeded.  "  Wot  you  not  he  hath 
offered  a  reward  for  the  arch-quack  and  poison-vender, 
Demetrius,  who  sold  certain  precious  spices  to  his  lord- 
ship's cook  ? — What  !  turn  you  pale,  old  friend  ?  Does 
Hali  already  see  an  infortune  in  the  House%f  Life  ? — 
Why,  hark  thee,  we  will  have  thee  down  to  an  old  house 
of  mine  in  the  country,  where  thou  shalt  live  with  a  hob- 
nailed slave,  whom  thy  alchemy  may  convert  into  ducats, 
for  to  such  conversion  alone  is  thy  art  serviceable." 

"  It  is  false,  thou  foul-mouthed  railer,"  said  Alasco, 
shaking  with  impotent  anger  ;  "  it  is  well  known  that  I 
have  approached  more  nearly  to  projection  than  any 
hermetic  artist  who  now  lives.  There  are  not  six  chem- 
ists in  the  world  who  possess  so  near  an  approximation  to 
the  grand  arcanum"  


KENIIiWORTH. 


259 


"  Come,  come,"  said  Varney,  interrupting  him,  "  what 
means  this,  in  the  name  of  heaven  ?  Do  we  not  know  one 
another  ?  I  believe  thee  to  be  so  perfect, — so  very  per- 
fect, in  the  mystery  of  cheating,  that,  having  imposed 
upon  all  mankind,  thou  hast  at  length,  in  some  measure, 
imposed  upon  thyself;  and  without  ceasing  to  dupe  oth- 
ers, hast  become  a  species  of  dupe  to  thine  own  imagina- 
tion. Blush  not  for  it,  man — thou  art  learned,  and  shalt 
have  classical  comfort  : 

'  Ne  quisquam  Ajacem  possit  superare  nisi  Ajax.' 

No  one  but  thyself  could  have  gulled  thee — and  thou  hast 
gulled  the  whole  brotherhood  of  the  Rosy  Cross  beside 
— none  so  deep  in  the  fnystery  as  thou.  But  hark  thee 
in  thine  ear  ; — had  the  seasoning  which  spiced  Sussex's 
broth  wrought  more  surely,  I  would  have  thought  better 
of  the  chemical  science  thou  dost  boast  so  highly." 

"  Thou  art  an  hardened  villain,  Varney,"  replied 
Alasco  ;  "  many  will  do  those  things,  who  dare  not  speak 
of  them." 

"  And  many  speak  of  them,  who  dare  not  do  them," 
answered  Varney  ;  "  but  be  not  wroth — I  will  not  quar- 
rel with  thee — if  I  did,  I  were  fain  to  live  on  eggs  for  a 
month,  that  I  might  feed  without  fear.  Tell  me  at  once, 
how  came  thine  art  to  fail  thee  at  this  great  emergency  ?" 

"  The  Earl  of  Sussex's  horoscope  intimates,"  replied 
the  astrologer,  "  that  the  sign  of  the  ascendant  being  in 
combustion"  

£<  Away  with  your  gibberish,"  replied  Varney  ;  "  think'st 
thou  it  is  the  patron  thou  speak'st  with ?" 

"  I  crave  your  pardon,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  and 
swear  to  you,  I  know  but  one  medicine  that  could  have 
saved  the  earl's  life  ;  and  as  no  man  living  in  England 
knows  that  antidote  save  myself,  — moreover,  as  the  in- 
gredients, one  of  them  in  particular,  are  scarce  possible 
to  be  come  by,  I  must  needs  suppose  his  escape  was 
owing  to  such  a  constitution  of  lungs  and  vital  parts,  as 
was  never  before  bound  up  in  a  body  of  clay." 


260 


KEN  lit  WORTH . 


"  There  was  some  talk  of  a  quack  who  waited  on  him," 
said  Varney,  after  a  moment's  reflection.  "  Are  you 
sure  there  is  no  one  in  England  who  has  this  secret  of 
thine?" 

"  One  man  there  was,"  said  the  doctor,  "  once  my 
servant,  who  might  have  stolen  this  of  me,  with  one  or  two 
other  secrets  of  art.  But  content  you,  Master  Varney, 
it  is  no  part  of  my  policy  to  suffer  such  interlopers  to  in- 
terfere in  my  trade.  He  pries  into  no  mysteries  more,  I 
warrant  you  ;  for,  as  I  well  believe,  he  hath  been  wafted 
to  heaven  on  the  wing  of  a  fiery  dragon — Peace  be  with 
him. — But  in  this  retreat  of  mine,  shall  I  have  the  use  of 
mine  elaboratory  ?" 

"  Of  a  whole  workshop,  man,"  said  Varney ;  "  for  a 
reverend  father  abbot,  who  was  fain  to  give  place  to  bluff 
King  Hal,  and  some  of  his  courtiers,  a  score  of  years 
since,  had  a  chemist's  complete  apparatus,  which  he  was 
fain  to  leave  behind  him  to  his  successors.  Thou  shalt 
there  occupy,  and  melt,  and  puff,  and  blaze,  and  multi- 
ply, until  the  Green  Dragon  become  a  golden-goose,  or 
whatever  the  newer  phrase  of  the  brotherhood  may 
testify." 

"  Thou  art  right,  Master  Varney,"  said  the  alchemist, 
setting  his  teeth  close,  and  grinding  them  together — 
"  thou  art  right  even  in  thy  very  contempt  of  right  and 
reason.  For  what  thou  sayest  in  mockery,  may  in  sober 
verity  chance  to  happen  ere  we  meet  again.  If  the  most 
venerable  sages  of  ancient  days  have  spoken  the  truth — 
if  the  most  learned  of  our  own  have  rightly  received  it, 
if  I  have  been  accepted  wheresoever  I  travelled  in  Ger- 
many, in  Poland,  in  Italy,  and  in  the  farther  Tartary,  as 
one  to  whom  nature  has  unveiled  her  darkest  secrets — if 
I  have  acquired  the  most  secret  signs  and  pass-words  of 
the  Jewish  Cabala,  so  that  the  greyest  beard  in  the  syna- 
gogue would  brush  the  steps  to  make  them  clean  for  me 
" — if  all  this  is  so,  and  if  there  remains  but  one  step — one 
little  step — betwixt  my  long,  deep,  and  dark,  and  subter- 
ranean progress,  and  that  blaze  of  light  which  shall  show 
Nature  watching  her  richest  and  most  glorious  pro  due- 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


26J 


lions  in  the  very  cradle — one  step  betwixt  dependence 
and  the  power  of  sovereignty— one  step  betwixt  poverty 
and  such  a  sum  of  wealth  as  earth,  without  that  noble 
secret,  cannot  minister  from  all  her  mines  in  the  old  or 
the  new-found  wtfrld — if  this  be  all  so,  is  it  not  reasona- 
ble that  to  this  I  dedicate  my  future  life,  secure,  for  a 
brief  period  of  studious  patience,  to  rise  above  the  mean 
dependence  upon  favourites,  and  their  favourites,  by 
which  I  am  now  enthralled  !" 

"  Now,  bravo  !  bravo  !  my  good  father,"  said  Varney, 
with  the  usual  Sardonic  expression  of  ridicule  on  his 
countenance  ;  "  yet  all  this  approximation  to  the  philoso- 
pher's stone,  wringeth  not  one  single  crown  out  of  my 
Lord  Leicester's  pouch,  and  far  less  out  of  Richard 
Varney 's — We  must  have  earthly  and  substantial  services, 
man,  and  care  not  whom  else  thou  canst  delude  with  thy 
philosophical  charlatanerie." 

"  My  son  Varney,"  said  the  alchemist,  "  the  unbelief, 
gathered  around  thee  like  a  frost-fog,  hath  dimmed  thine 
acute  perception  to  that  which  is  a  stumbling  block  to  the 
wise,  and  which  yet,  to  him  who  seeketh  knowledge  with 
humility,  extends  a  lesson  so  clear  that  he  who  runs  may 
read.  Hath  not  Art,  think'st  thou,  the  means  of  com- 
pleting Nature's  imperfect  concoctions  in  her  attempts  to 
form  the  precious  metals,  even  as  by  art  we  can  perfect 
those  other  operations,  of  incubation,  distillation,  fermen- 
tation, and  similar  processes  of  an  ordinary  description, 
by  which  w^e  extract  life  itself  out  of  a  senseless  egg, 
summon  purity  and  vitality  out  of  muddy  dregs,  or  call 
into  vivacity  the  inert  substance  of  a  sluggish  liquid  ?" 

"  I  have  heard  all  this  before,"  said  Varney  ;  "  and 
my  heart  is  proof  against  such  cant  ever  since  I  sent 
twenty  good  gold  pieces,  (marry  it  was  in  the  nonage  of 
my  wit,)  to  advance  the  grand  magisterium,  which  all, 
God  help  the  while,  vanished  in  fumo.  Since  that  mo- 
ment, when  I  paid  for  my  freedom,  I  defy  chemistry, 
astrology,  palmistry,  and  every  other  occult  art,  were  it  as 
secret  as  hell  itself,  to  unloose  the  stricture  of  my  purse- 
strings.     Marry,  I  neither  defy  the  manna  of  Saint 


262 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


Nicholas,  nor  can  I  dispense  with  it.  Thy  first  task  must 
be  to  prepare  some  when  thou  get'st  down  to  my  little  se- 
questrated retreat  yonder,  and  then  make  as  much  gold 
as  thou  wilt." 

"  I  will  make  no  more  of  that  dose^'  said  the  Alche- 
mist, resolutely. 

"  Then,"  said  the  master  of  the  horse,  "  thou  shalt 
be  hanged  for  what  thou  hast  made  already,  and,  so  were 
the  great  secret  forever  lost  to  mankind. — Do  not  hu- 
manity this  injustice,  good  father,  but  e'en  bend  to  thy 
destiny,  and  make  us  an  ounce  or  two  of  this  same  stuff, 
which  cannot  prejudice  above  one  or  two  individuals,  in 
order  to  gain  life-time  to  discover  the  universal  medicine, 
which  shall  clear  away  all  mortal  diseases  at  once.  But 
cheer  up,  thou  grave,  learned,  and  most  melancholy 
jackanape  !  Hast'thou  not  told  me,  that  a  moderate  por- 
tion of  thy  drug  hath  mild  effects,  no  ways  dangerous  to 
the  human  frame,  but  which  produce  depression  of  spirits, 
nausea,  headache,  an  unwillingness  to  change  of  place — 
even  such  a  state  of  temper  as  would  keep  a  bird  from 
flying  out  of  a  cage,  were  the  door  left  open  ?" 

"  I  have  said  so,  and  it  is  true,"  said  the  alchemist  ; 
"  this  effect  will  it  produce,  and  the  bird  who  partakes  of 
it  in  such  proportion,  shall  sit  for  a  season  drooping  on 
her  perch,  without  thinking  either  of  the  free  blue  sky, 
or  of  the  fair  green-wood,  though  the  one  be  lighted  by  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun,  and  the  other  ringing  with  the 
newly  awakened  song  of  all  the  feathered  inhabitants  of 
the  forest." 

"  And  this  without  danger  to  life  ?"  said  Varney, 
somewhat  anxiously. 

"  Ay,  so  that  proportion  and  measure  be  not  exceed- 
ed;  and  so  that  one  who  knows  the  nature  of  the  manna 
be  ever  near  to  watch  the  symptoms,  and  succour  in  case 
of  need." 

"  Thou  shalt  regulate  the  whole,"  said  Varney  ;  "  thy 
reward  shall  be  princely,  if  thou  keep'st  time  and  touch, 
and  exceedest  not  the  due  proportion  to  the  prejudice  of 
her  health — otherwise  thy  punishment  shall  be  as  signal." 


KENILWORTH. 


263 


"  The  prejudice  of  her  health  {"  repeated  Alasco  ; 
"  it  is,  then,  a  woman  I  am  to  use  my  skill  upon  ?" 

"  No,  thou  fool,"  replied  Varney,  "  said  I  not  it  was 
a  bird — a  reclaimed  linnet,  whose  pipe  might  soothe  a 
hawk  when  in  mid  stoop  ? — I  see  thine  eye  sparkle,  and 
I  know  thy  beard  is  not  altogether  so  white  as  art  has 
made  it — that,  at  least,  thou  hast  been  able  to  transmute 
to  silver.  But  mark  me,  this  is  no  mate  for  thee.  This 
caged  bird  is  dear  to  one  who  brooks  no  rivalry,  and  far 
less  such  rivalry  as  thine,  and  her  health  must  over  all 
things  be  cared  for.  But  she  is  in  the  case  of  being 
commanded  down  to  yonder  Kenilworth  revels  ;  and  it 
is  most  expedient — most  needful — most  necessary,  that 
she  fly  not  thither.  Of  these  necessities  and  their  causes, 
it  is  not  needful  that  she  should  know  aught,  and  it  is  to 
be  thought  that  her  own  wish  may  lead  her  to  combat  all 
ordinary  reasons  wThich  can  be  urged  for  her  remaining  a 
housekeeper." 

"  That  is  but  natural,"  said  the  alchemist  with  a  strange 
smile,  which  yet  bore  a  greater  reference  to  the  human 
character,  than  the  uninterested  and  abstracted  gaze 
which  his  physiognomy  had  hitherto  expressed,  where  all 
seemed  to  refer  to  some  world  distant  from  that  which 
was  existing  around  him. 

"  It  is  so,"  answered  Varney  ;  "  you  understand 
women  well,  though  it  may  have  been  long  since  you  were 
conversant  amongst  them. — Well  then,  she  is  not  to  be 
contradicted — yet  she  is  not  to  be  humoured.  Under- 
stand me — a  slight  illness,  sufficient  to  take  away  the  de- 
sire of  removing  from  thence,  and  to  make  such  of  your 
wise  fraternity  as  may  be  called  in  to  aid,  recommend  a 
quiet  residence  at  home,  will,  in  one  word,  be  esteemed 
good  service,  and  remunerated  as  such." 

"  I  am  not  to  be  asked  to  affect  the  House  of  Life  ?" 
said  the  chemist. 

"  On  the  contrary,  we  will  have  thee  hanged  if  thou 
dost,"  replied  Varney. 


264 


KEJVILAVORTH. 


"  And  1  must,"  added  Alasco,  "  have  opportunity  to 
do  my  turn,  and  all  facilities  for  concealment  or  escape, 
should  there  be  detection." 

"  All,  all,  and  every  thing,  thou  infidel  in  all  but  the 
impossibilities  of  alchemy — Why,  man,  for  what  dost  thou 
take  me  ?" 

The  old  man  rose,  and  taking  a  light,  walked  towards 
the  end  of  the  apartment,  where  was  a  door  that  led  to 
the  small  sleeping  room  destined  for  his  reception  during 
that  night. — At  the  door  he  turned  round,  and  slowly  re- 
peated Varney's  question  ere  he  answered  it.  "  For 
what  do  I  take  thee,  Richard  Varney  ? — Why,  for  a  wrorse 
devil  than  I  have  been  myself.  Bull  am  in  your  toils, 
and  I  must  serve  you  till  my  term  be  out." 

"  Well,  wTell,"  answered  Varney  hastily,  "  be  stirring 
with  grey  light.  It  may  be  we  shall  not  need  thy  medi- 
cine— Do  nought  till  I  myself  come  down — Michael 
Lambourne  shall  guide  you  to  the  place  of  your  destina- 
tion." 

When  Varney  heard  the  adept's  door  shut  and  careful- 
ly bolted  within,  he  stepped  towards  it,  and  with  similar 
precaution  carefully  locked  it  on  the  outside,  and  took  the 
key  from  the  lock,  muttering  to  himself,  66  Worse  than 
thee,  thou  poisoning  quack-salver  and  witch-monger,  who, 
if  thou  art  not  a  bounden  slave  to  the  devil,  it  is  only  be- 
cause he  disdains  such  an  apprentice  !  I  am  a  mortal 
man,  and  seek  by  mortal  means  the  gratification  of  my 
passions,  and  advancement  of  my  prospects — Thou  art  a 
vassal  of  hell  itself. — So  ho,  Lambourne  !"  he  called  at 
another  door,  and  Michael  made  his  appearance,  with  a 
flushed  cheek  and  an  unsteady  step. 

"  Thou  art  drunk,  thou  villain  !"  said  Varney  to  him. 

"  Doubtless,  noble  sir,"  replied  the  unabashed  Michael, 
"  we  have  been  drinking  all  even  to  the  glories  of  the 
day,  and  to  my  noble  Lord  of  Leicester,  and  his  valiant 
master  of  the  horse. — Drunk  !  odds  blades  and  poniards, 
he  that  would  refuse  to  swallow  a  dozen  healths  on  such 
an  evening,  is  a  base  besognio,  and  a  puckfist,  and  shall 
swallow  six  inches  of  my  dagger  !" 


KENILWORTH. 


265 


"  Hark  ye,  scoundrel,"  said  Varney,  "  be  sober  on 
the  instant — I  command  thee.  I  know  thou  canst  throw 
off  thy  drunken  folly,  like  a  fool's  coat,  at  pleasure  ;  and 
if  not,  it  were  the  worse  for  thee." 

Lambourne  drooped  his  head,  left  the  apartment,  and 
returned  in  two  or  three  minutes  with  his  face  composed, 
his  hair  adjusted,  his  dress  in  order,  and  exhibiting  as 
great  a  difference  from  his  former  self  as  if  the  whole 
man  had  been  changed. 

"  Art  thou  sober  now,  and  dost  thou  comprehend  me  ?" 
said  Varney,  sternly. 

Lambourne  bowed  in  acquiescence. 

"  Thou  must  presently  down  to  Cumnor-Place  with 
the  reverend  man  of  art,  who  sleeps  yonder  in  the  little 
vaulted  chamber.  Here  is  the  key,  that  thou  may'st  call 
him  by  times.  Take  another  trusty  fellow  with  you. 
Use  him  well  on  the  journey,  but  let  him  not  escape  you 
— pistol  him  if  he  attempt  it,  and  I  will  be  your  warrant. 
I  will  give  thee  letters  to  Foster.  The  doctor  is  to  oc- 
cupy the  lower  apartments  of  the  eastern  quadrangle, 
with  freedom  to  use  the  old  elaboratory  and  its  imple- 
ments.— He  is  to  have  no  access  to  the  lady  but  such  as 
I  shall  point  out — only  she  may  be  amused  to  see  his  phi- 
losophical jugglery.  Thou  wilt  await  at  Cumnor-Place 
my  farther  orders  ;  and,  as  thou  livest,  beware  of  the 
ale-bench  and  the  aqua-vitae  flask.  Each  breath  drawn 
in  Cumnor-Place  must  be  kept  severed  from  common 
air." 

"  Enough,  my  lord — I  mean  my  worshipful  master — 
soon,  I  trust,  to  be  my  worshipful  knightly  master.  You 
have  given  me  my  lesson  and  my  license  ; — I  will  execute 
the  one,  and  not  abuse  the  other.  I  will  be  in  the  saddle 
by  daybreak." 

"  Do  so,  and  deserve  favour. — Stay — ere  thou  goest 
fill  me  a  cup  of  wine — not  out  of  that  flask,  sirrah," — as 
Lambourne  was  pouring  out  from  that  which  Alasco  had 
left  half  finished,  "  fetch  me  a  fresh  one." 
23    vol.  i. 


266 


KEN  IL  WORTH. 


Lambourne  obeyed,  and  Varney,  after  rinsing  his 
mouth  with  the  liquor,  drank  a  full  cup,  and  said,  as  he 
took  up  a  lamp  to  retreat  to  his  sleeping  apartment,  "  It 
is  strange — I  am  as  little  the  slave  of  fancy  as  any  one, 
yet  I  never  speak  for  a  few  minutes  with  this  fellow  Alas- 
co,  but  my  mouth  and  lungs  feel  as  if  soiled  with  the 
fumes  of  calcined  arsenic — pah  !" 

So  saying,  he  left  the  partment.  Lambourne  lingered, 
to  drink  a  cup  of  the  freshly  opened  flask.  "  It  is  from 
Saint- John's-Berg,"  he  said,  as  he  paused  on  the  draught 
to  enjoy  its  flavour,  "  and  has  the  true  relish  of  the  vio- 
let. But  I  must  forbear  it  now,  that  I  may  one  day  drink 
it  at  my  own  pleasure."  And  he  quaffed  a  goblet  of  water 
to  quench  the  fumes  of  the  Rhenish  wine,  retired  slowly 
towards  the  door,  made  a  pause,  and  then,  finding  the 
temptation  irresistible,  walked  hastily  back,  and  took 
another  long  pull  at  the  wine  flask,  without  the  formality 
of  a  cup. 

"  Were  it  not  for  this  accursed  custom,"  he  said,  "  I 
might  climb  as  high  as  Varney  himself.  But  who  can 
climb,  when  the  room  turns  round  with  him  like  a  parish 
top  ?  I  would  the  distance  were  greater,  or  the  road 
rougher,  betwixt  my  hand  and  mouth  ! — But  I  will  drink 
nothing  to-morrow,  save  water — nothing  save  fair  water." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Pistol.    And  tidings  do  1  bring,  and  lucky  joys, 
And  happy  news  of  price. 

Falstaff.    I  prythee  now  deliver  them  like  to  men  of  this  world. 

Pistol    A  foutra  for  the  world,  and  worldlings  base  ! 
I  speak  of  Africa,  and  golden  joys. 

Henrij  IV.  Part  II. 

The  public  room  of  the  Black  Bear  at  Cumnor,  to 
which  the  scene  of  our  story  now  returns,  boasted,  on 


RENILW0RT1I. 


267 


the  evening  which  we  treat  of,  no  ordinary  assemblage  of 
guests.  There  had  been  a  fair  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
the  cutting  mercer  of  Abingdon,  with  some  of  the  other 
personages  whom  the  reader  has  already  been  made  ac- 
quainted with,  as  friends  and  customers  of  Giles  Gosling, 
had  already  formed  their  wonted  circle  around  the  even- 
ing fire,  and  were  talking  over  the  news  of  the  day. 

A  lively,  bustling,  arch  fellow,  whose  pack  and  oaken 
cll-ivand,  studded  duly  with  brass  points,  denoted  him  to 
be  of  Autolycus's  profession,  occupied  a  good  deal  of  the 
attention,  and  furnished  much  of  the  amusement,  of  the 
evening.  The  pedlars  of  these  days,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, were  men  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  de- 
generate and  degraded  hawkers  of  our  modern  times. 
It  was  by  means  of  these  peripatetic  venders  that  the 
country-trade,  in  the  finer  manufactures  used  in  female 
dress  particularly,  was  almost  entirely  carried  on  ;  and 
if  a  merchant  of  this  description  arrived  at  the  dignity  of 
travelling  with  a  pack-horse,  he  was  a  person  of  no  small 
consequence,  and  company  for  the  most  substantial  yeo- 
men or  franklin  whom  he  might  meet  in  his  wanderings. 

The  pedlar  of  whom  we  speak  bore,  accordingly,  an 
active  and  unrebuked  share  in  the  merriment  to  which  the 
rafters  of  the  bonny  Black  Bear  of  Cumnor  resounded. 
He  had  his  smile  with  pretty  Mistress  Cicely,  his  broad 
laugh  with  mine  host,  and  his  jest  upon  dashing  Master 
Goldthred,  who,  though  indeed  without  any  such  benevo- 
lent intention  on  his  own  part,  was  the  general  butt  of  the 
evening.  The  pedlar  and  he  were  closely  engaged  in  a 
dispute  upon  the  preference  due  to  the  Spanish  nether 
stock  over  the  black  Gascoigne  hose,  and  mine  host  had 
just  winked  to  the  guests  around  him,  as  who  should  say, 
"  You  will  have  mirth  presently,  my  masters,"  when  the 
trampling  of  horses  was  heard  in  the  court-yard,  and  the 
hostler  was  loudly  summoned,  with  a  few  of  the  newest 
oaths  then  in  vogue  to  add  force  to  the  invocation.  Out 
tumbled  Will  Hostler,  John  Tapster,  and  all  the  militia  of 
the  inn,  who  had  slunk  from  their  posts  in  order  to  collect 
some  scattered  crumbs  of  the  mirth  which  was  flying 


268 


KENILWORTH, 


about  among  the  customers.  Out  into  the  yard  sallied 
my  host  himself  also,  to  do  fitting  salutation  to  his  new- 
guests  ;  and  presently  returned,  ushering  into  the  apart- 
ment his  own  worthy  nephew,  Michael  Lambourne,  pretty 
tolerably  drunk,  and  having  under  his  escort  the  astrolo- 
ger. Alasco,  though  still  a  little  old  man,  had,  by  altering 
his  gown  to  a  riding-dress,  trimming  his  beard  and  eye- 
brows, and  so  forth,  struck  at  least  a  score  of  years  from 
his  apparent  age,  and  might  now  seem  an  active  manSf 
sixty,  or  little  upwards.  He  appeared  at  present  exceed- 
ingly anxious,  and  had  insisted  much  with  Lambourne 
that  they  should  not  enter  the  inn,  but  go  straight  forward 
to  the  place  of  their  destination.  But  Lambourne  would 
not  be  controlled.  "  By  Cancer  and  Capricorn,"  he 
vociferated,  "  and  the  whole  heavenly  host — besides  all 
the  stars  I  saw  in  the  southern  heavens,  to  which  these 
northern  blinkers  are  but  farthing  candles,  I  will  be  un- 
kindly for  no  one's  humour — I  will  stay  and  salute  my 
worthy  uncle  here. — Chesu  !  that  good  blood  should  ever 
be  forgotten  betwixt  friends  ! — A  gallon  of  your  best, 
uncle,  and  let  it  go  round  to  the  health  of  the  noble  Earl 
of  Leicester  ! — What !  Shall  we  not  collogue  together, 
and  warm  the  cockles  of  our  ancient  kindness  ? — Shall 
we  not  collogue,  I  say  ?" 

"  With  all  my  heart,  kinsman,"  said  mine  host,  who 
obviously  wished  to  be  rid  of  him  ;  "  but  are  you  to 
stand  shot  to  all  this  good  liquor  ?" 

This  is  a  question  has  quelled  many  a  jovial  toper,  but 
it  moved  not  the  purpose  of  Lambourne's  soul.  "  Ques- 
tion my  means,  uncle  ?"  he  said,  producing  a  handful  of 
mixed  gold  and  silver  pieces ;  "  question  Mexico  and 
Peru — question  the  queen's  exchequer — God  save  her 
majesty  ! — She  is  my  good  lord*s  good  mistress." 

"  Well,  kinsman,"  said  mine  host,  "  it  is  my  business 
to  sell  wine  to  those  who  can  buy  it — So,  Jack  Tapster, 
do  me  thine  office. — But  I  would  I  knew  how  to  come 
by  money  as  lightly  as  thou  doest,  Mike." 

"  Why,  uncle,"  said  Lambourne,  "  I  will  tell  thee  a 
secret — Dost  see  this  little  old  fellow  here  ?  as  old  and 


KENIL  WORTH. 


269 


withered  a  chip  as  ever  the  devil  put  into  his  porridge — 
and  yet,  uncle,  between  you  and  me — he  hath  Potosi  in 
that  brain  of  his — 'Sblood  !  he  can  coin  ducats  faster 
than  I  can  vent  oaths." 

"  I  will  have  none  of  his  coinage  in  my  purse,  though, 
Michael,"  said  mine  host  ;  "  I  know  what  belongs  to 
falsifying  the  queen's  coin." 

"  Thou  art  an  ass,  uncle,  for  as  old  as  thou  art — Pull 
me  not  by  the  skirts,  doctor,  thou  art  an  ass  thyself  to 
boot — so,  being  both  asses,  I  tell  ye  I  spoke  but  meta- 
phorically." 

"  Are  you  mad  ?"  said  the  old  man  ;  "  is  the  devil  in 
you  ? — can  you  not  let  us  begone  without  drawing  all 
men's  eyes  on  us  ?" 

"  Say'st  thou  ?"  said  Lambourne ;  "  thou  art  deceiv- 
ed now — no  man  shall  see  you  an  I  give  the  word. — By 
heavens,  masters,  an  any  one  dare  to  look  on  this  old  gen- 
tleman I  will  slash  the  eyes  out  of  his  head  with  my  pon- 
iard— So  sit  down,  old  friend,  and  be  merry — these  are 
mine  ancient  inmates  and  will  betray  no  man." 

"  Had  you  not  better  withdraw  to  a  private  apartment, 
nephew,"  said  Giles  Gosling  ;  "  y<m  speak  strange  mat- 
ter," he  added,  "  and  there  be  intelligencers  every 
where." 

"  I  care  not  for  them,"  said  the  magnanimous  Michael 
— "  intelligencers,  pshaw  ! — I  serve  the  noble  Earl  of 
Leicester — Here  comes  the  wine — Fill  round,  Master 
Skinker,  a  carouse  to  the  health  of  the  flower  of  England, 
the  noble  Earl  of  Leicester !  I  say,  the  noble  Earl  of 
Leicester  !  He  that  does  me  not  reason  is  a  swine  of 
Sussex,  and  I'll  make  him  kneel  to  the  pledge,  if  I  should 
cut  his  hams  and  smoke  them  for  bacon." 

None  disputed  a  pledge  given  under  such  formidable 
penalties  ;  and  Michael  Lambourne,  whose  drunken  hu- 
mour was  not  of  course  diminished  by  this  new  potation, 
went  on  in  the  same  wild  way,  renewing  his  acquaintance 
with  such  of  the  guests  as  he  had  formerly  known,  and 
experiencing  a  reception  in  which  there  was  now  some- 
23*    vol.  I. 


270 


KE  NIL  WORTH* 


thing  of  deference,  mingled  with  a  good  deal  of  fear  ; 
for  the  least  servitor  of  the  favourite  earl,  especially  such 
a  man  as  Lambourne,  was,  for  very  sufficient  reasons,  an 
object  both  of  the  one  and  of  the  other. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  old  man,  seeing  his  guide  in  this 
uncontrollable  humour,  ceased  to  remonstrate  with  him, 
and  sitting  down  in  the  most  obscure  corner  of  the  room, 
called  for  a  small  measure  of  sack,  over  which  he  seemed, 
as  it  were  to  slumber,  withdrawing  himself  as  much  as 
possible  from  general  observation,  and  doing  nothing 
which  could  recall  his  existence  to  the  recollection  of  his 
fellow-traveller,  who  by  this  time  had  got  into  close  inti- 
macy with  his  ancient  comrade,  Goldthred  of  Abingdon. 

"  Never  believe  me,  bully  Mike,"  said  the  mercer, 
M  if  I  am  not  as  glad  to  see  thee  as  ever  I  was  to  see  a 
customer's  money  ! — Why,  thou  canst  give  a  friend  a  sly 
place  at  a  mask  or  revel  now,  Mike ;  ay,  or,  I  warrant 
thee,  thou  canst  say  in  my  lord's  ear,  when  my  honoura- 
ble lord  is  down  in  these  parts,  and  wants  a  Spanish  ruff 
or  the  like — thou  canst  say  in  his  ear,  there  is  mine  old 
friend,  young  Lawrence  Goldthred  of  Abingdon,  has  as 
good  wares,  lawn,  tiffany,  cambric,  and  so  forth — ay,  and 
is  as  pretty  a  piece  of  man's  flesh  too  as  is  in  Berkshire, 
and  will  ruffle  it  for  your  lordship  with  any  man  of  his 
inches  ;  and  thou  may'st  say"  

"  I  can  say  a  hundred  damned  lies  besides,  mercer," 
answered  Lambourne  ;  "  what,  one  must  not  stand  upon 
a  good  word  for  a  friend  !" 

"  Here  is  to  thee,  Mike,  with  all  my  heart,"  said  the 
mercer  ;  "  and  thou  canst  tell  one  the  reality  of  the  new 
fashions  too — Here  was  a  rogue  pedlar  but  now,  was 
crying  up  the  old-fashioned  Spanish  nether  stock  over  the 
Gascoigne  hose,  although  thou  seest  how  well  the  French 
hose  set  off  the  leg  and  knee,  being  adorned  with  party- 
coloured  garters  and  garniture  in  conformity." 

"  Excellent,  excellent,"  replied  Lambourne  ;  "  why, 
thy  limber  bit  of  a  thigh,  thrust  through  that  bunch  of 
slashed  buckram  and  tiffany,  shows  like  a  housewife's 
distaff,  when  the  flax  is  half  spun  off." 


KENILWORTEI. 


271 


"  Said  I  not  so  ?"  said  the  mercer,  whose  shallow  brain 
was  now  overflowed  in  his  turn  ;  "  where  then,  where  be 
this  rascal  pedlar  ? — there  was  a  pedlar  here  but  nowf, 
methinks— Mine  host,  where  the  foul  fiend  is  this  pedlar  ?" 

"  Where  wise  men  should  be,  Master  Goldthred," 
replied  Giles  Gosling  ;  "  even  shut  up  in  his  private 
chamber,  telling  over  the  sales  of  to-day,  and  preparing 
for  the  custom  of  to-morrow." 

"  Hang  him,  a  mechanical  chuff,"  said  the  mercer  ; 
"  but  for  shame,  it  were  a  good  deed  to  ease  him  of  his 
wares, — a  set  of  peddling  knaves,  who  stroll  through  the 
land,  and  hurt  the  established  trader.  There  are  good 
fellows  in  Berkshire  yet,  mine  host — your  pedlar  may  be 
met  withal  on  Maiden  Castle." 

"  Ay,"  replied  mine  host,  laughing,  "  and  he  wrho 
meets  him  may  meet  his  match — the  pedlar  is  a  tall  man." 

"  Is  he  ?"  said  Goldthred. 

"  Is  he  ?"  replied  the  host ;  "  ay,  by  cock  and  pye  is 
he — the  very  pedlar  he  who  raddled  Robin  Hood  so 
tightly,  as  the  song  says, — 

'  Now  Robin  Hood  drew  his  sword  so  good, 

The  pedlar  drew  his  brand, 
And  he  hath  raddled  him;  Robin  Hood, 

Till  he  neither  could  see  nor  stand.'  " 

"  Hang  him,  foul  scroyle  !  let  him  pass,"  said  the  mer- 
cer ;  "  if  he  be  such  a  one,  there  were  small  worship  to 
be  won  upon  him. — And  now  tell  me,  Mike — my  honest 
Mike,  how  wears  the  Hollands  you  won  of  me  ?" 

"Why,  well,  as  you  may  see,  master  Goldthred,  an- 
swered Mike  ;  "  I  will  bestow  a  pot  on  thee  for  the  hand- 
sel.— Fill  the  flagon,  master  Tapster." 

"  Thou  wilt  win  no  more  Hollands,  I  think,  on  such 
wager,  friend  Mike,"  said  the  mercer  ;  "  for  the  sulky 
swain,  Tony  Foster,  rails  at  thee  all  to  nought,  and  swears 
you  shall  ne'er  darken  his  doors  again,  for  that  your  oaths 
are  enough  to  blow  the  roof  off  a  christian  man's  dwell- 
ing." 


272 


KENILWORTH. 


"  Doth  he  say  so,  the  mincing  hypocritical  miser  ?"  vo- 
ciferated Lambourne  ; — "  Why  then  he  shall  come  down 
and  receive  my  commands  here,  this  blessed  night,  under 
my  uncle's  roof !  And  I  will  ring  him  such  a  black  sanc- 
tus,  that  he  shall  think  the  devil  hath  him  by  the  skirt  for 
a  month  to  come,  for  barely  hearing  me." 

"  Nay,  now  the  pottle-pot  is  uppermost  with  a  witness," 
said  the  mercer.  "  Tony  Foster  obey  thy  whistle  ! — 
Alas  !  good  Mike,  go  sleep — go  sleep." 

"  I  tell  thee  what,  thou  thin-faced  gull,"  said  Michael 
Lambourne,  in  high  chafe,  "I  will  wager  thee  fifty  an- 
gels against  the  first  five  shelves  of  thy  shop,  numbering 
upward  from  the  false  light,  with  all  that  is  on  them, 
that  I  make  Tony  Foster  come  down  to  this  public  house, 
before  we  have  finished  three  rounds." 

"  I  will  lay  no  bet  to  that  amount,"  said  the  mercer, 
something  sobered  by  an  offer  which  intimated  rather  too 
private  a  knowledge,  on  Lambourne's  part,  of  the  se- 
cret recesses  of  his  shop,  "  I  will  lay  no  such  wager," 
he  said  ;  "  but  I  will  stake  five  angels  against  thy  five,  if 
thou  wilt,  that  Tony  Foster  will  not  leave  his  own  roof, 
or  come  to  ale-house  after  prayer  time  for  thee,  or  any 
man." 

"  Content,"  said  Lambourne. — "  Here,  uncle,  hold 
stakes,  and  let  one  of  your  young  bleed-barrels  there — 
one  of  your  infant  tapsters,  trip  presently  up  to  the  Place, 
and  give  this  letter  to  master  Foster,  and  say  that  I,  his 
ingle,  Michael  Lambourne,  pray  to  speak  with  him  at  mine 
uncle's  castle  here,  upon  business  of  grave  import. — 
Away  with  thee,  child,  for  it  is  now  sun-down,  and  the 
wretch  goes  to  bed  with  the  birds,  to  save  mutton-suet— 
faugh !" 

Shortly  after  this  messenger  was  despatched — an  inter- 
val which  was  spent  in  drinking  and  buffoonery, — he 
returned  with  the  answer  that  master  Foster  was  coming 
presently. 

"  Won,  won  !"  said  Lambourne,  darting  on  the  stake. 
"  Not  till  he  comes,  if  you  please,"  said  the  mercer, 
interfering. 


KE  NIL  WORTH. 


273 


"  Why,  'sblood,  he  is  at  the  threshold,"  replied  Michael 
— "  What  said  he,  boy  ?" 

"  If  it  please  your  worship,"  answered  the  messenger, 
"he  looked  out  of  window  with  a  musquetoon  in  his 
hand,  and  when  I  delivered  your  errand,  which  I  did 
with  fear  and  trembling,  he  said,  with  a  vinegar  aspect, 
that  your  worship  might  be  gone  to  the  infernal  regions." 

"  Or  to  hell,  I  suppose,"  said  Lambourne — "  it  is 
there  he  disposes  of  all  that  are  not  of  the  congregation." 

"  Even  so,"  said  the  boy  ;  "  I  used  the  other  phrase 
as  being  the  more  poetical." 

"  An  ingenious  youth,"  said  Michael ;  "  shalt  have  a 
drop  to  whet  thy  poetical  whistle — And  what  said  Foster 
next  ?" 

"  He  called  me  back,"  answered  the  boy,  "  and  bid 
me  say,  you  might  come  to  him,  if  you  had  ought  to  say 
to  him." 

"  And  what  next  ?"  said  Lambourne. 

"  He  read  the  letter,  and  seemed  in  a  fluster,  and  ask- 
ed if  your  worship  was  in  drink — and  I  said  you  were 
speaking  a  little  Spanish,  as  one  who  had  been  in  the 
Canaries." 

"  Out,  you  diminutive  pint-pot,  whelped  of  an  over- 
grown reckoning  !"  replied  Lambourne — "  Out ! — But 
what  said  he  then  ?" 

"  Why,  he  muttered,  that  if  he  came  not,  your  worship 
would  bolt  out  what  were  better  kept  in  ;  and  so  he  took 
his  old  fleet  cap,  and  thread-bare  blue  cloak,  and,  as  I  said 
before,  he  will  be  here  incontinent." 

"  There  is  truth  in  what  he  said,"  replied  Lambourne, 
as  if  speaking  to  himself—"  My  brain  has  played  me  its 
old  dog's  trick — but  couragio — let  him  approach  ! — 1 
have  not  rolled  about  in  the  world  for  many  a  day,  to 
fear  Tony  Foster,  be  I  drunk  or  sober. — Bring  me  a 
flagon  of  cold  water,  to  christen  my  sack  withal." 

While  Lambourne,  whom  the  approach  of  Foster 
seemed  to  have  recalled  to  a  sense  of  his  own  condition, 
was  busied  in  preparing  to  receive  him,  Giles  Gosling 


274 


KENILWORTH. 


stole  up  to  the  apartment  of  the  pedlar,  whom  he  found 
traversing  the  room  in  much  agitation. 

"  You  withdrew  yourself  suddenly  from  the  company," 
said  the  landlord  to  the  guest. 

"  It  was  time  when  the  devil  became  one  among  you," 
replied  the  pedlar. 

"It  is  not  courteous  in  you  to  term  my  nephew  by 
such  a  name,"  said  Gosling,  "  nor  is  it  kindly  in  me  to 
reply  to  it ;  and  yet  in  some  sort  Mike  may  be  consider- 
ed as  a  limb  of  Satan." 

"  Pooh — I  talk  not  of  the  swaggering  ruffian,"  replied 
the  pedlar,  "  it  is  of  the  other,  who,  for  aught  I  know — 
But  when  go  they  ?  or  wherefore  come  they  ?" 

"  Marry,  these  are  questions  I  cannot  answer,"  replied 
the  host.  "  But  look  you,  sir,  you  have  brought  me  a 
token  from  worthy  master  Tressilian — a  pretty  stone  it 
is."  He  took  out  the  ring  and  looked  at  it,  adding  as  he 
put  it  into  his  purse  again,  that  it  was  too  rich  a  guerdon 
for  any  thing  he  could  do  for  the  worthy  donor.  He  was, 
he  said,  in  the  public  line,  and  it  ill  became  him  to  be  too 
inquisitive  into  other  folks',  concerns ;  he  had  already  said, 
that  he  could  hear  nothing,  but  that  the  lady  lived  still  at 
Cumnor-Place,  in  the  closest  seclusion,  and,  to  such  as 
by  chance  had  a  view  of  her,  seemed  pensive  and  discon- 
tented with  her  solitude.  "  But  here,"  he  said,  "  if  you 
are  desirous  to  gratify  your  master,  is  the  rarest  chance 
that  hath  occurred  for  this  many  a  day.  Tony  Foster 
is  coming  down  hither,  and  it  is  but  letting  Mike  Lam- 
bourne  smell  another  wine-flask,  and  the  queen's  com- 
mand would  not  move  him  from  the  ale-bench.  So  they 
are  fast  for  an  hour  or  so — Now,  if  you  will  don  your 
pack,  which  will  be  your  best  excuse,  you  may,  per- 
chance, win  the  ear  of  the  old  servant,  being  assured  of 
the  master's  absence,  to  let  you  try  to  get  some  custom 
of  the  lady,  and  then  you  may  learn  more  of  her  con- 
dition than  I  or  any  other  can  tell  you." 

"  True — very  true,"  answered  Wayland,  for  he  it  was  ; 
"  an  excellent  device,  but  methinks  something  dangerous 
— for  sav  Foster  should  return?" 


KENI  WORTH. 


275 


"  Very  possible  indeed,"  replied  the  host. 

"  Or  say,"  continued  Wayland,  "  the  lady  should 
render  me  cold  thanks  for  my  exertions  ?" 

"  As  is  not  unlikely,"  replied  Giles  Gosling.  "  I  mar- 
vel master  Tressilian  will  take  such  heed  of  her  that  cares 
not  for  him." 

"  In  either  case  I  were  foully  sped,"  saidWoyland; 
"  and  therefore  I  do  not,  on  the  whole,  much  relish  your 
device." 

"  Nay,  but  take  me  with  you,  good  master  serving- 
man,"  replied  mine  host,  "  this  is  your  master's  business, 
and  not  mine  ;  you  best  know  the  risk  to  be  encounter- 
ed, or  how  far  you  are  willing  to  brave  it.  But  that 
which  you  will  not  yourself  hazard,  you  cannot  expect 
others  to  risk." 

"  Hold,  hold,"  said  Wayland  ;  "  tell  me  but  one  thing 
— Goes  yonder  old  man  up  to  Cumnor  ?" 

"  Surely,  I  think  so,"  said  the  landlord  ;  "  their  ser- 
vant said  he  was  to  take  their  baggage  thither,  but  the 
ale-tap  has  been  as  potent  for  him  as  the  sack-spiggot  has 
been  for  Michael." 

"  It  is  enough,"  said  Wayland,  assuming  an  air  of  res- 
olution— "  I  will  thwart  that  old  villain's  projects — my 
affright  at  his  baleful  aspect  begins  to  abate,  and  my  ha- 
tred to  arise.  Help  me  on  with  my  pack,  good  mine  host 
— And  look  to  thyself,  old  Albumazar — there  is  a  malig- 
nant influence  in  thy  horoscope,  and  it  gleams  from  the 
constellation  of  Ursa  Major." 

So  saying,  he  assumed  his  burthen,  and,  guided  by 
the  landlord  through  the  postern  gate  of  the  Black  Bear, 
took  the  most  private  way  from  thence  up  to  Cumnor 
Place. 


END  OF  VOLUME  I. 


I 

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